Cloud over Summer
by N. Forest
Summary: AU, sequel to Hermione's Dark Secret. It's summer time now and all the Slytherin's have returned how for the holidays. What adventures await each of them after their first year at Hogwarts? What are their family lives like? Contains drug and child abuse
1. Hermione

**WARNING- **This is the sequel to Hermione's Dark Secret. If you haven't read that story please read it first as this is an AU.

**Disclaimer: **JKR owns everything. I own nothing and I make no money from writing fan fiction.

Chapter One- Hermione

Dear Mother and Father,

I got your letter, the one you sent me at Christmas break. Professor Snape gave me the package you sent. He's the head of Slytherin now.

I'm in Slytherin, a second year! So are Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode and Daphene Greengrass. Last year was quite exciting. All of the first year Slytherins had an amazing adventure. Our Defence against the Dark Arts Professor wasn't very smart. But we're getting a new one next year.

I'm living with my godmother, Sara Cutter now. Her library is enormous and she seems nice enough. I spent Christmas with The Nott's and The Malfoy's. Theo has the best library! And Draco has a swimming pool in the lake. We went swimming during a snow storm!

I love reading and researching. My marks were in the top five percent. Only some of the Ravenclaws beat me. Same with Draco's and Theo's marks. Lord Malfoy told me both of you were intelligent.

I hope I get to meet you some day. We can have another Christmas together.

Your daughter, Hermione

Hermione flexed her stiff fingers and leaned away from the desk in her new bedroom. She'd finished up all the rough copies of her summer work and decided to write a letter to her parents. It was defiantly a summer of changes.

After arriving at King's Cross station Lord Malfoy and her godmother had taken her back to the Granger's house. Both seemed very cold. Lord Malfoy kept glaring at Sara Cutter and she made snide comments about him.

At the Granger's Hermione had gotten all of her stuff packed up, with Sara's help. Lord Malfoy explained the situation to the Granger's. Then they'd left for Diagon Alley.

Lady Malfoy replaced Lord Malfoy at this point. Relations between the Lady and her godmother were even more strained than with the lord. If that was possible. She guided Hermione to a fancy robe shop. Hermione spent the next bored almost to tears. Seemingly endless fittings, colours, and style choices paraded by.

But it was worth it. By the time they were done, Hermione swore she'd never go shopping with Lady Malfoy again. She now had sleeping robes, dress robes, everyday robes, capes and accessories for every occasion.

Just when Hermione was certain that she would die of exhaustion and hunger, Sara laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I think we're done now Narssica." She snapped at Lady Malfoy. "Thank you for your assistance. Next time I'll manage on my own." She glared at the other woman.

Lady Malfoy looked quite upset and offended. She pulled herself up to her full height. "Fine." She handed Sara the multiple bags of clothing. "Have a good summer Hermione." She smiled at her before leaving the shop and apparating away.

Sara made a face at Narssica's retreating figure. "Finally." She rolled her eyes and lead Hermione out of the shop. "Let's get going."

Hermione helped carry the bags into an open area of Diagon Alley. Sara grabbed onto her arm and apparated. It was much more uncomfortable than Lord Nott's had been. Rough and jerky.

They landed in a field. Hermione could see a tower steeple rising high into the sky in the distance. The plants around them were flowering and they smelled sweet. They reminded Hermione of someone the flowers from Professor Sprout's greenhouses.

"This is your room." Sara Cutter opened a rough wood door.

"That you Lady Cutter." Hermione said, stepping into the room with her clothing purchases dragging along the floor behind her.

"No need for that." Sara told her, waving her hand in the air. "Sara will be fine." She followed Hermione into her new bedroom. "What do you think of it? Is the colour all right?"

Hermione looked around the room and smiled. The walls were a deep green. Normally that would have made the room too dark, but an enormous bay window let in light from the slowly setting sun. A hardwood desk that looked recently polished fit neatly into a corner. A four poster bed, just like the one Hermione slept on at Hogwarts. The bed's curtains were a dark shade of silver.

"It's beautiful!" Hermione told her godmother. "I like the Slytherin style."

Sara smiled. "Oh, good." She walked to the door. "Get dressed and meet me downstairs. We'll have dinner."

Hermione turned the bags of clothing out on to her bed. "Something comfortable." She murmured to herself. A loose, purple velvet robe caught her eye. "Sweet." She pulled it on over her head. The material was soft and fit comfortably and looked good.

"Hello." Sara greeted her god-daughter as they took their places at an enormous table in the dining hall. Two places had been sent out at one end.

Hermione slipped into the offered chair. A steaming meal appeared on the table in front of her. Boiled potatoes, steamed broccoli, strips of roasted meat, fresh salad and a pitcher of sparkling liquid.

"Good." Sara filled her plate. "The house elves have out done themselves." She handed the platters of food to Hermione. "Take some of this lemon wine. It's Jamie's speciality."

Hermione took a glass of the wine. It swirled in yellow and pink spirals when she poured it into her glass. "Is Jamie your house elf?"

Sara nodded. "Jamie's the cook. Benny takes care of the grounds. Both of them help with house cleaning." She frowned at Hermione for a spilt second. "But I expect you to keep your room and bathroom tidy without much help. All the elves will do is dust, laundry and wash the floors."

"All right." Hermione pushed her empty plate away. "That was a fantastic meal."

"You can go to bed now." Sara told her, standing up from the table. "We've both had a long day."

Hermione smiled. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea. Good night Sara." She smiled at the woman before walking up the stairs to her bedroom.

The next week flew by. Hermione spent most of her time in the library. She was almost always late for meals and she read and worked late into the night. Sara got used to not seeing her god daughter before noon and infrequently for the rest of the day as the girl was always holed up in the library.

"Good Morning Hermione." Sara brightly greeted the girl who was slowly shuffling down the stairs. "Would you like some lunch?" Sara gestured to the spread of sandwiches on the table.

Hermione shook her head. "Not hungry." She yawned. "I'm going back to bed."

Sara looked rather put out. "Oh, well. If there's anything you need just let me know."

Hermione nodded. She downed a cup of the lemon wine before climbing the staircase back to her very comfortable bed. After falling asleep at six o'clock in the library, laying down on her bed sounded like an excellent idea. She was absolutely exhausted.

Sara Cutter cleaned the table off. "Benny!" She summoned the house elf to her.

"Mistress called?" Benny appeared before her in an instant, bowing low before her.

"Yes, I did." For once Sara was glad that her house elves had been purchased illegally by her mother. Both of them could speak proper English and read. It was nice to be able to hold a conversation with someone, even if they were only your house elf.

"I need some parenting advice." Sara told the older elf. He'd helped raise her and her brothers and sisters.

"What kind?" Benny asked her. "Raising like I raised you? Or like I raised Jamie?" Benny and his partner Sool had Jamie about six years after Sara was born.

"Parenting like with Jamie." Sara sighed and relaxed into the couch. "I need help with Hermione."

Benny nodded. "You should set the girl some limits."

Sara leaned forward. The elf may have been her slave but he still could teach her quite a bit.

But before she could ask her questions the floo roared to life. "Hello." Severus Snape's head appeared in the fire. His head looked around until he spotted her. "Is it all right if I come through Lady Cutter?" He asked her politely.

Sara sent Benny a glare. He disappeared with a loud pop. She made her way over to the fire. "Of course Professor."

The green, floo flames roared up to Snape's height. He stepped out, banishing the soot from his robes with a quick charm. "Lady Cutter." He said, shaking her hand.

"Professor." Sara inclined her head to the younger man. "How may I assist you?"

"Is Miss Morter available?" He asked. Snape glanced around the room quickly, as if she might have been hiding in the shadows.

Sara frowned, she was more guarded now. She body language conveyed that easily enough for Snape to read. "Has something happened? She's asleep."

"Now?" Snape asked incredulously. "It's mid-afternoon!" Morter had never struck him as the lazy type to lie around all summer. He glared coldly at Sara. "What have you been doing to her?"

"Nothing." Sara protested. "Come see if it's that important!" She turned sharply on her heel and headed up the staircase towards Hermione's room.

Snape followed behind the woman slowly. He'd always considered the Cutter's to be slightly unstable. And allowing a slightly unstable woman with no previous parenting experience to care for a teenage girl was a problem. 'Why didn't Dumbledore have her sent back to the muggles?' He thought. 'The last thing we need is a Morter running around with a Cutter. And no one to hold them back.'

Sara came to an abrupt stop. "Here." She threw the door open.

Snape stepped slowly into the room. It was a dirty mess. Books and clothing were strewn over the floor and heaped in piles in the corners. And some of the clothing was clean! The entire room stank of unwashed teenager and the girl lying on the bed looked as if she could use a good wash.

Hermione was sprawled over the bed. She hadn't even bothered to change her clothes or get under the covers. He head rested on a open book. She must have fallen asleep reading.

"Miss Morter." Snape snapped at his student. Happily she jumped up immediately.

"Yeah?" Then she turned to look at whoever had woken her up. "Professor?"

"Correct." Snape cleared some of the mess on the floor out of the way. "You signed the list. Therefore I am here."

Hermione yawned. "Thanks sir. I'll just get some more sleep."

But Snape grabbed her shoulder in an iron grip. "I think not." He roughly hauled her out of bed. "Sara!" He called for the woman in the hall.

Hermione watched through tired eyes as her godmother came in and listened to her Professor. She was too tired to care what was being discussed But she hoped that they would finish soon, she had been reading the most interesting book.

"Go with your godmother." Snape ordered her. "Wash and get dressed in something clean." He shoved her towards Sara. The second they left the room he turned back towards the bed, snapping his fingers. "Benny!"

Hermione yawned again. After she'd left the kitchen she'd gone back upstairs and down some more reading. She'd meant to go to bed, but the books were just too interesting to stop reading! And her godmother wouldn't mind.

At least she hoped no one would mind. Especially Professor Snape. The last thing she wanted was to be on his bad side. That was the last thing anyone wanted.

"Hermione." Her godmother gave her shoulders a light shake.

Hermione turned to her. "Yeah?" Her voice fell at the end as she had a coughing fit. The hacking type that left her throat sore and painful.

"Are you all right?" Sara turned away from the cupboard she'd been rooting it.

Hermione smiled. "Of course."

"Good." Sara handed her two large white towels. "Go take a shower in my bathroom." She pointed the door out to her.

"Uh uh." Hermione nodded and stumbled tiredly into her godmother's bathroom. It was at least three times the size of her own and had an enormous shower stall in the corner.

"Sweet." Hermione whispered as she shed her clothes and climbed in. the water temperature was perfect. Not too cold, not to hot. It soothed her and she felt much more awake by the time she was done washing.

A set of clean robes had been left out for her. An older, more comfortable looking set. The name tape across the top read _Sara Cutter._ 'Must have been her old ones.' Hermione thought as she pulled the slightly faded material on.

A loud knock came from the door. "Did you fall asleep? Hermione?"

Hermione opened the door. Sara had her hand raised to knock again. She smiled when she saw her very much awake god-daughter yank the door open. "Good, there you are." She looked closely at Hermione. "Those robes look good on you."

Hermione smiled. "Thanks. Can I go back to sleep now?"

Sara frowned. "No. You should eat something first and Professor Snape is here. He wants to talk to you."

"Fine." Hermione didn't mention that she wasn't hungry. She hadn't been hungry for awhile. Only remembering the state of Lord Nott had kept her on top of things, if only a little bit. She didn't want to end up dirty and anorexic looking like him.

Sara followed Hermione down the stairs to the dining room. Snape was sitting next to two set places. No food or drink had been delivered to the table yet and no house elves could be seen.

Professor Snape stood as they approached. He gazed sternly down on Hermione. "Miss Morter."

Hermione hung her head. She didn't want to know what her head of house thought of her behaviour. And she had a feeling it wasn't happiness and pride. "Sorry sir."

His face hardened into a glare. "May I ask just what you are apologizing for?"

Hermione let herself sink even deeper into the chair she had taken. "For not doing anything. For wasting your time and mine."

"Hmm." He took the seat in the middle and motion to the empty one on his other side. "Sit down Cutter."

Sara threw him a quick glare. 'What was he thinking! Calling her Cutter as if she were a student of his.' She was now slightly angry

"Benny's cooked a wonderful meal." She told them. With a snap of her fingers the table filled up with steaming platters and pitches of wine and whiskey.

Hermione's stomach almost rebelled at the smell of the food. After eating almost nothing but bread and small snacks for a week she wasn't able to stomach normal food. Not to mention that all she'd drank for entire time she'd been home was wine. Drinking alcohol without food is never a good idea.

"Eat, eat." Sara encouraged her. She piled rice and stir-fried vegetables and meat onto her plate.

Hermione starred at the food on her plate. It looked like the most unappetizing thing she'd ever been forced to eat. Worse than cold porridge or water thinned soup.

"Is something wrong?"

Hermione jumped at the quiet voice in her ear. She looked up to find the Professor starring intensely at her. She didn't like this new expression on his face.

"I don't think so sir." She admitted in a small voice. It was hard enough for her to keep her stomach from rebelling to worry about talking properly.

Snape snapped his fingers.

A house elf appeared. He bowed low. "What can Benny do for Professor Snape?"

Snape's looked startled for a moment, but his usual scowl appeared seconds later. "Food. Thin soup, plain bread and water."

Benny bowed. "A moment please Professor." He popped away, almost silently.

"Thank you sir." Hermione whispered. She didn't want her godmother to think she was weak.

Snape just regarded her with his almost unblinking gaze. When the food popped onto the table he served her a fresh portion.

Hermione sighed with relief at her new food. For once the soup looked good, the fresh bread delicious and she couldn't wait to drink water. It seemed like ages since she'd had a cup of the clear, cold liquid. In her haste to consume the first decent meal in almost a week she forgot that she hadn't eaten for at least a day, if not longer.

"Problem?" Snape asked when Hermione turned slightly green from all the food she was on struggling not to vomit. At her frantic nod he reached into his robes and pulled a vial out of the inside pocket. He handed it to her.

Hermione popped open the vial of thick, brown potion and gulped down the bitter, salty mixture. Relief came as soon as the potion hit her stomach. The nausea disappeared. She took another long drink of water to get rid of the taste of the potion.

"Thank you sir."

"Indeed. Thank you." Sara Cutter chimed in. She'd just watched the exchange between the two and had caught on to the problems rather quickly.

Snape didn't acknowledge their thanks. He dove straight into the next problem. "Miss Morter do you have a summer schedule?"

"Sir?" Hermione asked.

Sara Cutter looked embarrassed. "No." She pulled her wand from her arm holster. "_Accio Parchment. Accio Ink. Accio Quill."_ The requested items zoomed quickly into her hands. She offered them to Professor Snape. "Here."

He excepted them with a nod. "Miss Morter you need to set meal times, bedtimes, and rising times." He handed her a piece of parchment. He turned to Sara. "She should also go outside at some point. These grounds are quite large, walking and exploring would be a good activity."

Sara nodded. "Of course."

Hermione filled out times on the paper. Ten o'clock for bed, eight o'clock for breakfast. "Is this reasonable for summer?" She asked. The Granger's had a very liberal view on raising children and never gave her many rules, other than ones that were simply for her safety.

"You should be able to work this out on your own." Snape stood up and pushed his chair in. "Have a good summer Miss Morter. September 1st." He stalked out of the room towards the floo.

"Thank you sir." Hermione called after his retreating figure. "See you in September."

There was the roar of the floo a few moments later and the atmosphere in the house relaxed. Hermione smiled and Sara smiled back at her.

Hermione yawned. "I'm still tired. What time is it?"

Sara smiled. "I expected as much. You really didn't do much other than read. Just like your mother." She glanced at her wrist watch. "It's eight thirty. But you should probably go to bed early tonight."

Hermione was about to protest. She wasn't ready to go to bed and by her schedule she still had time. Then she stretched out and realized just how tired she actually was. "I guess so."

"Go get ready." Sara told her. "I'll be up in a minute." She summoned Benny in and gave him breakfast instructions.

Hermione headed up the stairs. Professor Snape had summoned the elves to tidy her room. It would be refreshing to sleep in a room as tidy and clean as one she was used to. Maybe she'd even be able to find her sleeping robes!

She put on the light cotton robes, cleaned her teeth and climbed into bed. Tomorrow would be a better day. She could read and study and finish her homework. Maybe Sara would even tell her about her mother. She kept mentioning how much Hermione was like her.

"Hey." Sara opened the door and slipped into the room. "I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow." she smiled down at Hermione. "Sweet dreams."

"You too." Hermione told her. She gave her godmother a hug.

"Oh!" Sara had stuck her hand into her robe pocket. She pulled out a glass vial full of potion. "I almost forgot." She handed the potion to Hermione. "Professor Snape wanted you to take this. It's a sleeping potion. He said it will help you get deep sleep."

Hermione accepted the glass vial. "Thanks. Good night." She swallowed the thick potion and felt herself falling asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Sara watched as her god-daughter passed quickly into dreamland. She gave her a quick kiss, turned off the lights and slipped out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

Hermione yawned. Her clock read 7:30. She glanced gratefully at the potion on the table next to her bed. The sleep she'd gotten was wonderful. Hermione climbed out of bed and took a quick shower. She put on clean clothing. A long dark blue robe and a matching headband to pull her hair back. She hurried downstairs. She didn't want to mess up her schedule on the very first day!

The breakfast table was set with four places. Steaming dishes covered the table, they had lids over them to keep the heat in. A variety of jams, butters and drinks also clustered in the centre of the table.

"Yum." Hermione sat down next to the table edge. "Morning!" She called to Sara, who was walking down the stairs.

"Good Morning." Sara said with a big smile. It warmed her heart to see Hermione up and alert like a normal child at a normal hour.

"Who else is joining us this morning?" Hermione asked. She motioned to the two open seats.

Sara's smile grew smaller and her eyes hardened. "My house elves. They're part of the family."

A quiet crack sounded next to Hermione and two house elves appeared. Both had enormous smiles on their faces and both were wearing clothes!

"Clothes!" Hermione exclaimed. "Free house elves!"

The younger female one in a deep purple dress scowled at her. "Good morning might be more appropriate. I'm Jamie." She offered her tiny hand.

Benny stood the seat next to Sara. He was dressed neatly in slacks and a button down shirt. He and Jamie filled their plates quickly.

"Good cooking." Benny told his daughter. He was ignoring the looks Hermione was currently giving him.

"They're related to me." Sara told her.

"What!" Hermione almost jumped to her feet. "They're servants!"

"Sit down." Benny ordered her. "I raised Sara and I'll take care of you if you need it. Grow up."

Hermione was horrified. House elves did not talk to wizards this way and wizards did not let house elves wear clothes and stay in their service! She turned angrily to her godmother. "How are you related to this creatures? You're a pureblood!"

Sara's eyes hardened. "Just because you don't get along with my uncle and my cousin does not give you any right to do this. And why would you think I was a pureblood?"

Hermione was astonished. "Uh. Well...."

Sara scowled. "Come." She stood up from the table and walked quickly up the staircase. Hermione stomped along behind. They walked through the halls until they came upon the library. "In." Sara ordered, before summoning a giant book to a table in the centre of the room.

Hermione had tried to open the book before. But it refused to be read. The cover stuck down and she couldn't move it anywhere.

Sara flipped through the book quickly, using her wand to flip through the pages. She bent over close to the page. "Here it is." She moved over so that Hermione could see and pointed a a place on the page.

Hermione studied the section carefully. It showed a family tree. _Cutter _was written across the top. Her godmother was pointing to a name. _Sara Cutter_. And next to it, where the cousins were there was the name _Jamie (house elf)_.

"It's true!" Hermione rounded on her. "But that's against the law!"

Sara smiled. "Yes. So don't tell anyone. I've got an aunt that was a house elf. Benny's my uncle by marriage, and Jamie's my cousin. They're family."

"Cool." Hermione said diplomatically.

"Sure." Sara led the lay back to the breakfast table and they filled up on fruit and bread.

"May I go outside now?" Hermione asked. "I realized I've seen almost nothing of this place."

"Okay." Sara finished helping to clear the table. "I'll go with you."

The two woman walked to the front of the house, pulled on light cotton cloaks, Sara grabbed a shoulder bag and they made their way into a large grassy field. The smell of wild flowers and herbs filled the air and Hermione relaxed into the sweet smelling breeze.

Sara pointed out a carved wood bench. "My father made that. He loved magical art. Always making wand carvings."

Hermione ran her hand over the wood that was cut with pictures of dragons and basilisks and thousands of other creatures. "It's beautiful."

Sara smiled. "He'd be pleased." She took a seat on the bench and pulled wool and needles out of her shoulder bag. "Do you know how to knit?"

Hermione shook her head. "I'm not really into crafty sorts of things like that."

"Humph." Sara pulled her down next to her. "I'll teach you."

For the rest of the pleasantly warm summer day the two talked and knit. They ate sandwiches and cookies on a blanket next to a steam a few fields away. Sara finished up a set of socks and she showed Hermione how to get everything started and how to do the basic stitch. By the time the sun was falling Hermione had a decent green scarf finished. It wasn't fancy, just a simple rectangle. But she'd done the entire thing her self.

"Time to come home." Benny told them after appearing with a crack.

Sara smiled again. "Thanks." She took hold of his arm and held on tight. "Come on Hermione."

The second Hermione grabbed onto Benny's other arm he popped away and brought them straight to the full dinner table.

That night they feasted on some kind of strange, delicious meat. It wasn't like anything Hermione had ever tasted before. And everyone refused to tell her what it was. They told her to eat up and be quiet. Something she was happy to do. There was baked potatoes, rice, salad and belladonna biscuits for dessert.

"Bed time." Sara ordered her as soon as she'd cleared her plate.

"It's not time yet!" Hermione looked at her watch. "I've still got three hours!"

Benny advanced on her. "Don't argue." He slipped his hand into the pocket of his pants and Hermione would have sworn she saw a knife blade. She swallowed nervously.

"Of course. Good night." She ran up the stairs, taking them two a time. Hermione pulled on pyjamas as quick as she could and climbed into bed. Something was starting to freak her out.

A knock sounded at her bedroom door.

"Come in." She called.

Sara slid the door open. She was dressed in a heavy, dark leather apron. The front bore strange stains and a weird smell hung around her. Hermione was certain she'd smelled it before, she just couldn't remember!

"Good night." Sara said, as she smoothed Hermione's hair. "Sweet dreams." She walked to the door and left the room. "Oh!" Her head appeared around the corner. "I've having some friends over, it might get a little loud."

Hermione nodded. The second the door was closed she thrust her head under her pillow and plugged her ears. She remembered another woman dressing the same way. From a dream, more of a nightmare actually. She'd didn't want to hear the screams she was certain would follow.

"Morning." Hermione was the last one to the table the next morning. Everyone else had already gathered and was dressed neatly in blood red robes. They looked tired, but very happy.

"Morning." Sara said with a yawn. "Any ideas on what you're going to do today?" She asked.

Hermione told her about the books she wanted to read. She'd discovered Wizarding teen and child fiction and she absolutely loved the stuff. The tales and adventures were thousands of times more interesting than the best muggle book she'd ever read.

"Write to your friends." Jamie suggested. "Draco Malfoy would probably like to hear from you. Or Theodore Nott."

Hermione shrugged. "That's not a bad idea."

After breakfast was finished she wrote out the good copies to her homework assignments, then she pulled over a fresh piece of parchment and got to work on her letter for Draco.

_Next Chapter- Draco_


	2. Draco

**Disclaimer: **JKR owns everything. I own nothing.

Cloud Over Summer- Draco

_Dear Draco,_

_How's your summer been so far? Mine has been pretty good so far. Sara's library is amazing! I finished my summer homework already. What did you think of the transfiguration paper? Have you gotten your new books yet? _

_I just got my final marks. I can't believe how well I did! What did your parents think of yours? _

_How are you getting to the station on September 1st? We should all meet up and go somewhere together before that._

_Hope you're having a great summer. _

_Hermione Morter._

Draco read over the letter three times before he put it back down on his desk. 'My very first letter from a girl!' He thought. 'Of course, she is my cousin. But Pansy never sent me a letter!'

He relaxed back into the fancy chair Dobby had brought into his room for him. Well, it was actually more like a suite. His bedroom, a study and bathroom. The study used to be a playroom, but now learning was more important than playing.

At least that's what his Father had told him. The letter with final marks had been addressed to _Lucius Malfoy_ instead of him. His marks were decent, but they weren't the highest ones. Theodore Nott had beaten him again. Just like he'd always done in primary school. And Hermione had beaten him too.

The Nott's had always been a sore spot for Lucius. Nott's mother had been a loyal follower and her husband couldn't have cared less. He was interested in the dark arts, but he would never do anything other than read about them. Unfortunately, his son seemed to be the same way. All brains with no loyalty at all. Draco would happily have nothing to do with the Dark Arts. But he'd never say that.

Draco breathed a sigh of relief when the cushions on his new chair held as he cranked the back lower and lower, until he'd created a bed. It felt so nice to simply relax. He never wanted to go through his Father getting his marks again. It had hurt.

*********

_Two Weeks Ago:_

"Draco!" Lucius Malfoy bellowed for his son. He was angry. Very angry. He paced the room, fuming as he waited for the miscreant to march his way down to his office.

Draco ran into the office as quickly as he could. When his Father was actually yelling it couldn't mean anything good. Usually it meant he was about to be punished. Whether he was punished for taking to long to get there, or punished for runing and disgracing the name of Malfoy, he was still punished.

"Yes Father?" He gasped as he came to a stop in front of the awe-inspiring desk. Then he saw the letter and the school crest on it.

Lucius waved the letter under his nose. "Your marks arrived today!" He ripped the letter in half. "Are these what you call good marks?"

Draco gulped. "Yes sir." He ventured nervously.

"Nott got better marks than you did! And a muggle-raised girl!" Lucius Malfoy ripped the letter into smaller pieces. "You seem determined to drag the name of Malfoy through the mud!"

Draco knew what was coming. His Father had beaten him before. Just a couple of whacks with his cane. But his mother had always calmed Lucius down first and Lucius had never been this mad before. Not even the time Draco had decided to pretend that mud was shampoo and ended up with a disgusting mess in his hair.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"Sorry! You're sorry! You certainly will be!" Lucius was fuming now. The glass in the windows was starting to shake from his magical power. "And then you will study! Perfect marks from the perfect Malfoy's."

Draco watched horrified as his Father drew his wand and pointed it at him. His eyes grew wide when he realized his Father wasn't going to hit him. He was going to use magic. "Please, no..." Anything was better than this.

Lucius smirked. "Get better marks. And show more respect!" He walked in front of his desk so he was only a foot from his son. "_Crucio."_

Draco heard the curse and felt the rush of air as it hit him. Then he heard nothing but his screams.

Lucius lifted the curse a few seconds later. He glared down at his son. "Weakling!" He kicked Draco. "_Crucio."_

Draco screamed. He writhed on the ground. He left as if his insides were on fire and someone was sticking him with burning metal shards all over his body. He screamed and screamed until his voice grew hoarse.

"Coward!" Lucius's heavy, booted foot made contact with his side again.

Draco gasped for air. He was beyond screaming. His throat was raw, he ached all over. He couldn't even whisper now.

"Get out of my sight boy." Lucius turned and strode out of the room. Disciplining his son always made him want to torture someone, or kill something and he kept a basement full of creatures for that purpose.

Draco let the pain fill him and tried to relax into the floor. He knew he had to get up and out of the study before his Father returned or he'd simply be punished again. With much effort he hauled himself up onto his knees and began to crawl from the room, struggling not to cry as the movement hurt his tender body.

"Shhhhhhhh." Dobby popped quietly to his side. "Master Draco must not cry he will be punished. He will." The little elf looked sympathetically on the tortured wizard boy. He had no love for him, but he knew what it felt like to be punished by Master Malfoy.

Draco reached the doorway and used the door frame to pull himself to his feet. He cursed under his breath when he put weight onto his right ankle. It was probably broken, or at the very l badly sprained. He scowled at the elf. "Get lost Dobby."

Dobby suddenly felt the need to bash his head against the wall for not following his Master's orders. But he shook his head and approached Draco. "No. Dobby is helping you sir." He gently grabbed the boy's arm and popped to his bedroom and laid him out on the large bed.

"Thanks." Draco breathed a sigh of relief and then pain as his body pressed into the bed.

"You is very badly hurt Sir." Dobby told him. "Dobby is helping you." The elf popped away.

Draco slowly catalogued his injuries. He'd seen his Father use the Cruciatus curse before. But he'd never cursed Draco. He summoned a hand mirror to himself. Some of the blood vessels in his face and eyes had burst. _I'll be bruised tomorrow_. He thought before banishing the mirror. He didn't want to know what the rest of his body looked like.

"Master, Dobby has returned!" The elf popped back into his room. He had a bottle and some jars in his arms. "Dobby is fixing Master."

Draco accepted the ice and potions from the elf. Dobby had been cursed countless times by Mr. Malfoy and Draco himself. But he never seemed to hold it against Draco and helped him as much as possible when his Father's displeasure left him hurt.

"Feel better soon Sir!" Dobby squeaked before popping out of the room.

Draco groaned and cursed his ancestors. _Why, oh why did the Malfoy's decide to hide the house from every type of magic? _

Malfoy Manor was an ancient wizarding dwelling that over hundreds of years had been spelled with wards that stopped spying and seeing magic. It was even said to be protected from The Sight that seers used. Draco could use magic whenever he wanted and the Ministry couldn't detect any Dark Magic or Unforgivable Curses.

Draco rolled onto his side. He was feeling better and most of his wounds were numb now. He'd take the opportunity to go to sleep and hope his mother was home by the time he woke up. She'd get him potions that Dobby didn't have access to.

********

Draco spent the next few days recovering from Lucius's punishment and studying his pains out. He'd finished his summer assignments and his Father was trying to tutor him. But he wasn't the best teacher. In fact, he was horrible.

"Pay Attention!" Lucius roared at his son. "I'm not explaining again."

Draco resisted the urge to sigh and complain. It would just get him in more trouble. Transfiguration just didn't come easily to him!

"Try again." Lucius Malfoy put the water goblet in front of him. "I want a bird. Now!"

Draco brought his wand up and pointed it at the goblet. "_Totsua Avian" _He incanted. The water goblet shuddered and turned into a fish.

"Idiot!" Lucius yelled. "Get out of my sight boy!"

Draco needed no further urging. Recently his Father had been nasty and short tempered. Even his Mother couldn't help much. She was left to patching him up after his lessons and trying to explain the theory better than her husband.

Sure enough Narcissa was waiting in his room. She was ordering Dobby around as he rearranged the furniture. Once her son entered the room she rushed to his side.

"Are you al-right?" She asked him. Her voice was low so that Lucius couldn't have heard them if he was spying and eavesdropping.

"Fine. I still can't turn a goblet into a bird." He admitted.

Narcissa gave his shoulder a quick, reassuring squeeze. "I'll give you a hand. But transfiguration never was my best subject."

"Thanks." Draco gave his Mother a hug. He knew how much it hurt her to see him hurt by his Father. She'd told him that she never would've married Lucius if they hadn't been betrothed at birth.

"His sisters are wonderful people. They married well, Gryphon Morter never hurt Hera. It was her little brother that's a sadistic loser."

"But only sometimes." Draco reminded her. It was no excuse for his behaviour, but sometimes he was decent and kind. And he never hurt Narcissa. Only Draco. But he was his Father. He taught him to read, how to do magic and how to act like a proper pureblood. He'd made a pool for his son even though he thought it was a waste of time and too muggleish.

"Don't forget to pack." Narcissus reminded him as she left his room. "We're leaving tomorrow morning. The Malfoy family reunion."

_The Malfoy family reunion, a time to get together, duel, find spouses and get into bar fights​! _Draco thought as he remembered the occasion from the year before. He did not want to see his Great Uncle Lycoris after the prank he'd played on him. The man would be happy to kill him.

"Of course." Draco told his Mother. His memory was much better than it had been. Every day Dobby helped him go through memory exercises and then his Father would make him do more of them. _By the time I'm back in school I'll remember every tiny detail of everything!_

"Dobby?" Draco snapped his fingers together and waited for the elf to appear. He needed to pack his things and that was a house elf's job. He'd tell him what to do.

"You is calling Dobby?" The elf asked as he popped in next to Draco. "What can Dobby do for Master?"

"I need a hand packing my things." Draco told the house elf as he lazily relaxed on his bed. "And I'm in a rush."

"A moment Master." Dobby popped away and returned seconds later carrying Draco's travelling trunk. It had been a gift from his Father who told him it was a family heirloom. It was light to carry and spelled to move on its own and hold ten times its actual size.

Draco had a small amount of clothing packed. Mostly summer robes, duelling robes and dress robes. The Malfoy family could be very dressy at their dances. He put in countless books since his Father wasn't going to let up and allow him to stop studying. The last section of his trunk held the gifts he'd picked up for various family members. Over the year he kept his eyes open for things he thought would suit his relatives.

"Dobby is finished." The elf told him. "Dobby packed the nut brittle Master asked Dobby to make."

"Good. Now leave." Draco ordered as he went to inspect his trunk. He didn't trust the house elf to do a perfect job. _Purebloods always do better_. A saying that his Father was fond of saying and reminding him of whenever he let someone else do something for him.

He spent the rest of the day at his desk, writing essays and studying transfiguration, charms, and potions. The Dark Arts books sat on the side of his desk, but he didn't like reading them before bed. The pictures and stories gave him nightmares.

"Draco. Dear it's time for dinner. Dress robes." Narcissa's patronus disturbed his work. She always contacted him this way if they were having guests for dinner and she was busy preparing. But Draco didn't remember his Father saying they were having company that night.

_Oh well. Father has surprise guests sometimes. Maybe this is one of the people the Ministry can't know is a friend of Father's. Not that they could find out anything from inside this house. _Draco eventually stopped his mental analyses of who was coming to dinner and started searching for dress robes. Most of them were packed in the trunk that Dobby had already sent ahead.

A small selection was still in his closet. But none of them were his favourites. He almost called Dobby out of the kitchen to fetch his trunk back. _But Father would be most displeased if dinner's late. I don't want to get Dobby in trouble. He's got enough problems to deal with._

Draco finally decided on a long green robe. It had a Slytherin crest and opened on the sides showing off his expensive dress slacks and shirt. His wand was secure in a dragon hide arm holster that matched the colour of his robe. He combed his hair one last time and made his way to the dinning room.

"Ah. There you are." Lucius Malfoy, his wife, and guest were already seated at the large wooden table in the dinning hall. The food hadn't been serves yet. But the wine glasses were full and the pitchers almost half empty already. He stood up. "Mr. Lockhart, I'd like to introduce you to my son Draco Malfoy. Draco, this is Gilderoy Lockhart. He'll be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts next year."

Draco studied the man in front of him. He didn't stand during the introductions and his clothing, hair and posture radiated the aura of a man who cares only for himself and his appearance. Draco leaned in to shake his hand and saw smudges on the man's face. _Was he wearing make-up? What kind of wizard doesn't simply use a glamour charm?_

"Pleased to meet you." Lockhart said as he relaxed deeply into his chair. He'd been forced to lean forward to shake Draco's hand since he didn't stand up. "I'm sure you'll learn everything you need to know in my class. My books explain it all. I'm sure you've read them."

Draco was sure he never wanted to read any of this idiot's mindless drivel. He seriously doubted the man could teach him anything. But his Father had drilled Malfoy diplomacy into him from an early age, so all he told the man was, "It will definitely be an interesting experience." A quick glance at his Father told him that was the right answer.

Lockhart gave a lazy wave with his hand. "Don't worry. It will be quite safe as long as I'm in class. Nothing can hurt you while I'm there." He smiled at the assembled family.

Narcissa's nerves were fired from listening to the man drone on and on about himself for the first half hour. At least he drank too much. He couldn't talk and drink at the same time. "It's time for dinner." She snapped her fingers. "Dobby."

The elf knew better than to answer her summons. He simply began to magically send out the impressive meal he had made.

Lucius and Draco paid close attention to Lockhart throughout the meal. But for different reasons.

"Where was your last trip to?" Lucius prompted the man. "Tibet?"

"No." Lockhart shook his head. "I was just in the Amazon rainforest."

Draco's ear perked up at this. He was working on an essay for his Father about the magical women of the Amazon. And maybe the man would slow down. Draco had never seen anyone with more horrible manners. He talked with his mouth full, and gulped his food down like a dog or a bear!

"The Queen was quite taken with me." Lockhart bragged. "Thought that I was the most impressive person she'd even seen. Man or woman. Kept changing the laws so that I could finish my project."

Draco almost snorted into his plate full of rice and beef. _The man thinks an Amazon queen was __impressed with him? How stupid is he? Any man would be killed for daring to intrude on their land._

Lucius was having similar thoughts. "What were you working on in the Amazon? That's quite far away. It must have been very important." He leaned forward slightly to give the impression of interest in Lockhart's story.

Now that Lockhart was on his favourite subject- himself- he became giddy and went into detail about his trip.

"I was hired by an older employee of mine. A secretary. His wife had been taken by a fit of madness and he needed her found before she was hurt." He paused. His story wasn't sounding good enough.

"At first I believed she'd run off with a lover. But then an owl arrived. It was a message from her. Telling him to forget her and live in peace. Get another wife. He loved the woman dearly and was horrified that the sickness had affected her so. "

"I immediately recognized it to be a coercion spell. Obviously Dark Magic at work."

Lucius almost burst out laughing. _If he truly knows the meaning of Dark Magic I'm a squib._

"I've cured such spells before. It's simple for a person of my power." Lockhart mentioned. "I traced the owl back to the Americas. I should have expected that she'd be in such a lawless place. When I arrived the Amazon Queen was about to be killed by a dragon hawk."

Draco was startled. "A dragon hawk?"

Lockhart looked down at him imperiously. "Yes. A giant, deadly bird. The Queen was helpless against his talons and teeth. Only my quick stasisspell saved her. In gratitude she granted me permission to stay there and took me in as her King..."

Lucius Malfoy was growing bored. He'd finished his dinner and dessert and listening to the fool babel on about himself had lost any appeal hours ago. His hand twitched toward his wand every time the idiot opened his mouth again.

But Gilderoy was oblivious to his hosts' growing frustration. He continued to tell his tale and stuff his face.

". . . and the Queen saw the error of her ways and released all the women she'd drawn into her web of magic. The complete story can be found in my new book, Adventuring with Amazons." Lockhart smiled at his audience.

_Great Merlin! This is the man who's going to be teaching my son!_

_This idiot's got it coming to him. Theo and Hermione won't be able to stand him!_

_Look at what he's done to my china! Spilling food everywhere!_

The Malfoy's were fuming and none of their thoughts were complementary to the fraud.

"If you'll excuse us now Gilderoy." Lucius Malfoy got up from his chair. "We have to leave early tomorrow morning and it's getting quite late."

Lockhart looked rather put out at first. "Well." He got to his feet with a broad smile. "I enjoyed our evening. Again sometime?"

"Hmm." Lucius was trying to be diplomatic. His brain was screaming _No! No! No! You will never set foot in my house again!_

"Thanks you for a wonderful night." Narcissa said as she showed him out. Quite quickly.

Lucius stomped up the stairs to the study. He needed to write letters about the Professor-to-be. The Headmaster, Board of Governors and the Minister would hear of his displeasure.

"Bed Draco." Narcissa rested her hand on her only child's shoulder. "We have to be up early tomorrow."

"Sure." Draco followed her up the stairs and was surprised when she followed him into his bedroom.

"Draco. Are you sure you want to go to Hogwarts? My sister is always an option. Or a tutor. Your Father would be happier with you home all year." Narcissa didn't like her son wasting his time and their money learning from idiots.

"I know." Draco didn't want to stay home. School wasn't his favourite thing. But at least he was partly free of his Father and his insistence that Draco learn Dark Arts and be a perfect pureblood. "Wait a sec!" He called before his Mum could leave the room.

"Yes sweetie?"

"When you say sister do you mean Aunt Bellatrix?" The woman had always terrified him and she was locked up in Azkaban.

"No." She rubbed her son's back comfortingly. "My sister Andromeda. You've never met her. She married a muggleborn."

Draco inhaled sharply. _Never marry below your station._ His Father's voice in his head sounded. "You'd do that for me?" _It would mean being kicked out of the family._

"Of course. I love you." She kissed the top of his head and glided out of the room, shutting the door softly behind her.

Draco prepared for bed on autopilot. _Mum's willing to give up her marriage and life for me? I never thought..._

Thoughts raced through his mind as he got into bed and thoughts were still spinning in his head when he finally drifted off to sleep.

*************

"Wake up!" Narcssia called to her son. She had been up for an hour. Eating and packing last minute items and things they'd forgotten yesterday. She was dressed sensibly in long, loose pants and a short, light blue summer robe. Her hair was pulled pack into a French braid.

Draco sat up slowly. "Do I have to go?" He whined. With his Mother he sometimes dared to act like an eleven year-old instead of a pureblood prince.

"Yes. Now get up." Narcissa ordered before she went pack to oversee the cleaning of the kitchen.

Draco rolled out of bed, springing up before he hit the floor. His clothes were already laid out. He'd wanted them ironed and Dobby had done so early in the morning. He pulled on the soft fabrics. The thin, long sleeved shirt fit under his white summer robe and matched perfectly with his green slacks.

He made his way to the kitchen. Breakfast was informal that morning and everyone ate alone in the tiny house elf and servants dinning table. Draco devoured a quick meal of eggs, toast, juice, tea, and hot potatoes before his Father called.

"Draco!"

"Yes Father?" He answered after arriving in the entrance hall seconds later.

"Time to go."

"Yes sir."

The family walked through the grounds of Malfoy manor until they reached the edge. In just a few steps the anti-apparation wards would no longer surround them. Their luggage had been popped to the vacation house by Dobby.

"Don't forget this Dear." Lucius handed his wife a tiny vial filled with a pink potion. "You better take some too Draco." He added as he handed his son another identical vial.

Narcissa downed the anti-nausea potion in one swallow and watched as Draco took his. "Time to go." She ushered Draco across the boarder, held his arms tightly and twisted. Moments later they popped in front of the Malfoy family vacation house.

Draco took a long, deep breath of the fresh, salty air. The vacation house was even larger than their manor since it had to be able to house the 20+ members of the Malfoy family. Technically Hermione should be there. She was his cousin since her Mother had been born a Malfoy. Aunt Hera, just another one of his relatives in Azkaban.

"Romovitch!" We're here!" Lucius called out to his brother-in-law.

Another blond man came sauntering out of the house to join the crowd of blond hair on the front law. His wife, Nike came running after him yelling in Russian.

"What's wrong?" Lucius asked as his little sister ran into his arms with tears pouring down her face.

"Nothing. I missed you and Romovitch is being a-"

Lucius put up a hand to stop her. "Not in front of the children." He reminded her. "Watch you mouth."

Nike blushed and remembered her pureblood manners. "Hello Narcissa. Draco."

"Hello Aunt Nike." Draco loved his aunt's name. Goddess of victory, because a Malfoy always wins.

He tugged on his Mother's robe sleeve. "Can I go see my cousins?" That was his way of asking to play with the other kids.

Narcissa nodded. "Don't get into trouble." She warned as he scampered off.

Draco darted and swerved throughout the crowd. _Somewhere in this mess of people are Cecrops, Achlys, Pyrrha, __Thanatos and Gregorvitch. What is it with the greeks that the Malfoy's are so obssesed with? We're all named after them._

"Hey! Draco!" A teenage girl was calling to him from underneath a tree. The five other Malfoy kids were relaxing around her. Draco made his way over to them.

"Hello Pyrrha." He touched her hair. "Beautiful hair as always." He smirked.

"Oh, leave off!" Pyrrha was always teased about her hair. It was the same bright red colour that her name translated to. And she was the only non blond Malfoy. "It's better than yours."

"No fighting now." Gregorvitch glared at them, his eyes flashing. He was the oldest Malfoy child and the first-born of Aunt Nike and Uncle Romovitch. For him the naming tradition had been broken.

"Of course cousin dearest." Pyrrha gave him a fake bow. They weren't real cousins but it was easier to say that instead of second cousin or whatever his relation was.

"Picked your rooms yet?" Draco asked. "Are they giving us more this year?"

"Yea." Gregorvitch leaned back on the tree. "This year I get the couch in the living room."

"Lucky! Thanatos grumbled. "I still have to share with Draco and Cecrops. And they snore."

"I do not!" Cecrops was on his feet now. "Let's go get our rooms before you can spread more rumours about me."

"Then it's time for the games." Gregorvitch reminded them.

Draco was looking forward to the games. Only those eleven or older were allowed to play. It was a hard and fast rule of the Malfoy family and not even his Father dared break it. Gregorvitch had been playing for years but he never told any of them exactly what went on at the games. Draco could not wait to find out.

The trunks had been delivered to their rooms and their things unpacked. The Malfoy's vacation home didn't use house elves. The building was an ancient magical dwelling created by the first dark faeries and was almost sentient.

Three beds filled most of the smaller attic bedroom Draco, Cecrops and Thanatos were given to share. All of them had much larger rooms at home, but none of them dared complain should the house hear them. It tolerated their usage in the summer but it was protective of itself and didn't hesitate to kill four year-olds drawing on the walls.

"What are the games?" Draco asked Cecrops as soon as they had assembled themselves on their beds to chill and relax.

"Come on kid. Just give me a break. You'll find out tonight." Cecrops was fourteen and one of the brightest students at Durmstrang. He was reading a hefty tome in German.

"What's your book about?" Thanatos climbed onto the edge of his cousin's bed. "Is it interesting?"

"Philosophy and it's amazing. Now shush." Cecrops scolded the younger child. "If you want to stay with the older kids you have to act like one.

Thanatos pouted. He was nine! Nine is not a baby! "I am an older kid. I've stayed with you guys for three years!"

"That's right. You should now the rules by now." Draco reminded him. "Why don't you read too?"

"I don't want to. There's nothing good to read."

Draco sighed. _Is this what it's like to be a Father, or a teacher? It must be living hell! _"Try this." He offered out a kids adventure book. He'd be dead if his Father knew he was reading 'Flight of the Necromancer: An Auror novel' instead of studying. But he was good at hiding things.

"Yay! I love these books!" Thanatos grabbed the book eagerly and started reading it.

_I'm glad I bought the kid the complete box set._ Draco thought. His presents for the kids were books. But they wouldn't be given out until the last day and they would be withheld if you were bad. And you'd be punished in front of everyone. There was no privacy at the family reunion.

At dinner they feasted at the beach. The house provided food and was a better cook than any house elf Draco had ever had cook for him. Sometimes he wished he could live out here all-year-round. But the house didn't like that and he had to go to school.

When the sun finally set everyone was slowly headed back indoors. Draco changed out of dress robes and into plain summer robes and followed Cecrops down stairs. He couldn't wait to find out what the games were.

But moments later he regretted his enthusiasm.

The adults were busy putting up extra wards and one-way silencing charms. They could hear the children calling but the children couldn't hear them. Then they proceeded to the vast basement.

Draco scanned the crowd as it surged toward the stairs. He didn't see his Mother but Pyrrha caught his eye and gave him a wink of encouragement. By the time he got to the bottom of the stairs his Father was waiting for him.

Lucius had changed out of robes. It startled Draco to see him, it made him look naked. His red silk shirt and black pants seemed unfinished without a robe.

"Here Draco." Lucius summoned his son over to him. "You'll need an apron since it's your first time."

"Sure." Draco let the rough, stained leather coat his body.

"And you'll need a special charm." Lucius brought his wand down hard on his son's head.

"Ow!" Draco winced, he hadn't been expecting that. Almost immediately a bright blue-green light began to glow all around him.

"It's a signifier charm. So everyone can tell who you are." Lucius repeated the spell on himself but his light was green. "Your mother is blue. As our son you're a combination of both of us."

"Where is Mum?"

"The ladies and girls already went out. Ladies first, you know that."

Draco nodded. "So what are the games?

"Come."

Draco followed is Father through the twists and turns of the basement. They went down a few flights of stairs.

"There's an entire manor under the first one!" Draco exclaimed. "This is awesome!"

Lucius smiled. He remembered being young. "These are the dungeons. Cages are on this level and the maze is a floor beneath us."

"Sweet!"

"Language." Lucius reminded his son with a light tap of his wand. "You're a wizard not a muggle girl."

"Sorry Father." Draco was almost running to keep up to his Father's pace now.

"One last tip. If you need a way to get out last raise your wand and scream. The house hears and will open a door to the ground floor. It'll be empty but a medical kit is on the table. Have fun." He hurried back to join his friends.

Draco cautiously walked down the corridor. He could hear soft moaning now. He came upon the first cage of metal bars and peered inside.

An old muggle man was shaking on the thin straw on the floor. A sign of the door of the cage read 'Muggle. Cursing only.'

The next cage read 'Hexes only' another read 'Children only'. A cage full of young children made Draco shudder. Especially since their label read 'Frustration and Physical only'.

The despair and darkness pushed him to the end of the cages to an open door. Beyond it was darkness. But he could hear the sounds of spells and screams.

The sign on the door read 'Malfoy Game Night: Cat and Mouse'. Seeing the sign almost made Draco sick up. Muggles were released into the maze with no hope of escape. Then a bunch of angry and bloodthirsty wizards went into the tunnels and tried to hunt them and kill them.

Draco knew that not participating would get him in trouble. The same way he was thrashed for not reading Dark Art books. His only hope was that it wasn't as horrible as it looked and sounded.

He slipped into the tunnel and started looking. After 5 minutes of running mindlessly he spoted someone curled up in a corner of a dead end.

"Hello." He whispered as he bent down next to the pile.

"Are you going to kill me?" It was a little girl.

"No." Draco whispered back. "I could never hurt you. I'm Draco."

"Jessi." The girl allowed him to help her off the ground. He could see her ribs and cheek bones through the scant rags she was wearing as clothing.

"I'm going to get you out of here." Draco promised. Learning about evil was one thing. Killing children was entirely different. _If this is what it means to be a Malfoy then I don't want to be a Malfoy!_

Draco raised his wand and screamed. It sounded like a scream of pain. His Father would be fooled later when Draco said the scream belonged to one of his victims. The girl clutching his arm shuddered and held him tighter.

A door appeared next to him and Draco rushed himself and Jessi though it. They came out in front of the house and breathed a sigh of relief. He pushed Jessi away from him.

"Start running and don't stop. Go home." He urged her. Draco wished he could apparate. Sending the girl home wouldn't make up for the others in the basement, but it was a start.

He could feel his dinner rising inside him and he rushed inside to the toilet. Draco spent the next several minutes vomiting until all that was coming up was acid and strange liquids. It burned is throat and made him feel even sicker. Once his stomach was empty he relaxed. But only a little. The images of the people in the cages still filled his mind.

Draco washed his face and hands and walked back into the kitchen.

"WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS?" His Father roared. Narcissa stood next to him and at their feet was the still and dead body of Jessi.

Draco felt his throat get even dryer. He had nothing to say. Luckily they weren't looking for an answer.

"GET!" Lucius ordered him.

His Mother tossed a handful of floo powder into the fire. "Go to Sev's." She whispered in his ear as he climbed into the fireplace.

"Hogwarts. Severus Snape's personal quarters!" Draco yelled as his Father began screaming again.

The fireplace spat him out onto the floor of his godfather's living room. He coughed and spluttered from the smoke filling his lungs. He'd had no time to prepare himself and accidently taken a deep breath mid-floo.

Severus leaped up from the couch where he was relaxing and reading a book. His wand was pointed at the intruder but he lowered it when he recognized Draco.

"What have they done to you?" He asked as he rolled the boy on to his side and wandlessly summoned potions from his lab.

"...hurts..." Draco told him before coughing up more black ash and smoke.

"Shhhh. It's okay. It's okay." Sev gently rocked his godson back and forth. "You're going to be fine."

When Draco's cough finally subsided he force-fed the boy a breathe-easy elixir.

Much to Draco's embarrassment he vomited it straight back up. "Sorry." _I'm weak._ He thought, cursing himself for helping the muggle girl.

"It's okay." The Potions Master gave Draco a stomach soother. Then the breathe-easy elixir and finally a calming draught. "You're al-right."

"They k-killed h-her Sev." Draco cried. The calming draught didn't do much since he was hysterical.

"Just tell me what happened." Sev soothed.

Through tears and screams Draco managed to tell his godfather what had happened.

The man had put him to bed and promised he could spend the rest of the summer with him.

When Draco woke up he had a letter to write. To another boy who seemed to understand him and treat him like an equal. Not a god or a servant. Theodore Nott.

**A/N: **I made up the entire Malfoy extended family. It was fun. But there are some flaws in it. Oh, well. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. I now have a Beta-reader so the next chapters should be better.

**Next: Theo**


	3. Theodore

**Disclaimer: **JKR owns everything and everyone. I own nothing.

Cloud over Summer- Theodore Nott

Theodore Nott was reading during breakfast again. He did that every day of the summer. When he was six his Father had to have him hospitalized because he didn't eat enough. Today was no exception. He barely noticed the small bits of food he was putting in his mouth. All of his attention was on 'The Complete Sherlock Homes' a book he never would have dared read anywhere but his own home. It was a muggle book.

He didn't even see the letter on top of his plate until he'd accidently piled apple slices on top of it. _Odd. It bears the Hogwarts crest, but I've already received my marks._ He used his bread knife to slit the envelope open and remove the letter.

Theo pulled the letter out and read the long message that was written on paper stamped with the Malfoy family crest.

_Dear Theo,_

_I'm staying with my godfather now. He's taken me in for the rest of the summer. I just wanted to know how you were doing. I'm doing a lot better than I was when we got out of school._

_I wanted to know what your summer project was this year. Severus is insisting that I start one and I'm totally lost at what to do. I've got another three days to decide or I'll have to spend the rest of the summer copying out '1000 Essential Potion Ingredients'._

_How's your Father? Did he find the tome on dragons he was looking for? I did an essay on the Amazon and did a little research on the dragon hawk. _

_Gilderoy Lockhart, the author of the books you think are silly lies, came over for dinner. He's going to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts next year! It'll be a nightmare!_

_Hope your summer's better than mine._

_Draco Malfoy_

Theo didn't bother to take the time to think about the letter's contents. He simply shoved it into his pocket and walked back to the library to join his Father.

The library, dining room and two bedroom suites were the only rooms kept in good condition during the summer. The house elves were busy enough and none of the other rooms were ever used. Both suites had a study in them and that was the most commonly used room other than the library.

Theo pushed open the door to the smaller, musty section of the library. It was a smaller room off the main library that held books that one would need on a regular basis and their favourite things to read.

The shelf Theo stopped in front of was the first in his bookcase full of summer resources. _Why did I ever chose History and Development of Prophecies? It's got to be the most boring topic ever! _

He'd spent the first few weeks outlining his paper and gathering the books he needed. Theo had even gotten his Father to pull some strings and get him an invitation to the Department of

Mysteries hall of prophecy. _The actual field information will give amazing support to my essay!_

Every summer for as long as he could remember Theo and his Father had done projects that ended with large papers or books. There was a shelf of his Father's published books in the library. Most them weren't published commercially because the topics were so obscure and the writing was very scientific. But a Hogwarts Ancient Runes and Arithmancy textbook were both written by his Father. It embarrassed him to no end.

At least this year his Father had been too busy to bother him too much about his marks when he arrived home.

*******

_The First Day of Summer Break:_

The house was quiet. It was always almost silent, but when Theo finally arrived home on the Knight Bus it seemed more noiseless than ever. The wards let him in and the house elves greeted him at the door.

"Welcome home Master Theodore!" The ancient house elf Liddy squeaked as she let him in. Liddy had served his Grandmother and she had lived far longer than almost any surviving creature. His Father had interviewed her for a great deal of his articles. She had lived through all the legendary events.

"Hey Liddy. It's nice to be home." Theo was exhausted. Sleeping on the crowded Knight Bus was an impossible feat and he wanted to go to bed more than anything.

"Liddy will be helping. Come Master Theodore." The house elf led him up the stairs. "Liddy fixed Master's room for him." She opened the door to a suite next to the library.

Theo walked in and let his trunk fall to the floor behind him. "Bring me dinner Liddy!" He ordered. _I'll get to work as soon as I've eaten._

While Liddy prepared a meal he unpacked his trunk and gathered the few important pieces of papers and books from his trunk. Until the book list arrived for next year he was free to study whatever he wanted. _Until August my time is my own! _This was his favourite part of the year.

"Liddy is bringing Master Theodore his food." The house elf presented Theo with a steaming tray. "Liddy is making a special welcome meal for Master."

Theo accepted the food and looked over it. The house elves sometimes accidentally used spoiled food or forgot to cook something properly. But the meal looked fine. "That will be all for now Liddy. You may leave now."

The house elf looked disappointed. They lived for the beginning and end of summer when they were actually needed and given things to do. Beyond that their Masters were to caught up in their work to bother with house elves.

"Isn't Master Theodore needing something else?" Liddy was practically begging him for more work.

Theo smiled. _I feel sorry for them sometimes. I don't like living with Father and I barely spend any time here. _He cleared his throat. "Actually Liddy, find Father and tell him I've arrived. Bring him here in thirty minutes. And bring another dinner tray then to."

_I know my Father and if the project the Ministry's assigned him is this important he won't know anything is going around beyond his own little world. When he's busy he totally forgets time, food, and everything else. Just like me._

He ate the hot soup, bread, and rice Liddy had brought for him. It was simple, but all he'd eaten on the Knight Bus was junk food and he felt loads better after his plate and bowl were clean.

"Liddy is bringing the things Master asked for." The house elf popped in. She had another food tray, but his Father wasn't with her.

"Where's my Father? I thought I asked you to bring him too." Theo snapped at her. He wanted to get the greeting out of the way so he could get to work.

Liddy bowed. "Liddy is bringing Master Nott right now." She snapped her fingers and disappeared.

Theo relaxed on the couch. He'd been planning to get straight to work. But now sleeping sounded like a good idea. His belly was full and the manor didn't bounce and move like the bus. There was still his summer homework to be completed.

"Liddy brought Master Nott to Master Theodore! Is Master wanting anything else?" The elf asked brightly as she set Father down.

"No. That will be all." Father glared at the elf. "Scat!" Liddy popped away.

"Hello Father." Theo walked in front of his Dad. "I've arrived home." He shoved the food into his Dad's hands. "Eat."

Mr. Nott needed no further urging. He devoured the plate of food and called Liddy back for seconds and thirds before speaking to his son again. "Let's see your marks."

"They'll mail them. Just like always." Theo reminded his Father. "They don't give them to us any more. People used to 'accidentally' lose them."

Mr. Nott snorted. "You better have perfect marks. You take after me in the brains. Not your Mother."

Theo held back a gasp. _Father never mentions Mother! The word is practically taboo in the house!_ "Father?"

"I thought I knew her. I guess I didn't. Not after..." He gave his head a shake. "It's the past. Don't stray from the path my son. Don't follow your Mother."

Theodore nodded. "Of course. What project are you working on now?" He changed the subject smoothly. _Father's always happy to talk about books and research. _

"The Ministry's hired me for a project..." Mr. Nott droned on and on about the new textbook he was writing for Healers. Healing could be taught through the Ministry but no textbooks had ever been published on the subject. Apprentice healers learned from their Masters and from compendiums and encyclopaedias.

"I'm gonna get to work Father." Theo walked to the door. "See you later."

"Going to get to work." Father corrected. "Not gonna. You are not your Mother!"

Theo raised his hands in front of his chest. "Okay. I'm just fine. I'm going to work now. Bye." He waltzed out into the library he'd missed so much at Hogwarts. _Finally! This is my home!_

_*********_

_Where's the seer book! _Theo ran his fingers over the resource shelf. _I know I put it here!_ He looked harder. _It's got to be one of these!_ He peered at the book titles. They were all blury. He rubbed at his eyes and looked again. Theo pulled the book's spine closer until it was millimetres away from his face. _Now I can see it! Oh, well. Wrong book._ He stuck it back on the shelf.

The first five pages of his paper were written and all of his homework was finished. It was a great deal easier than he'd expected. _It must be because of all the muggleborn students. They haven't got access to all the books we do._

Most of his research was already finished. The only things left to do was find out how seers felt about prophecies that had significant impact and resulted in wars or other disasters. Then he was going to the Department of Mysteries. All that all that would be left was to finish writing the paper!

_I'm so much faster at research since I started school. I'll have to find another summer project. I've never needed a second summer project!_ Theo yawned. He hadn't slept recently. That morning Liddy had brought him breakfast and he planned on sleeping that night. _After all, I wouldn't want to be tired during my field research._

Theo pulled the last book on the shelf off. He starred at the spine. _This is it!_ He took the book under his arm and headed back to his study. The room was still remarkably neat since it was the second room on Liddy's cleaning list.

His Father's study was first, then his, and then the library. The house elves were responsible for anything else. As long as they didn't get in the way and the important rooms stayed clean neither of the Nott's cared. Liddy was in charge of the house elves and the youngest. It was her job to personally see to the Master's care.

_Her cooking is almost as good as the food at Hogwarts._ Theo thought as he munched thoughtfully on a sandwich. His marks had arrived and were in the top three as usual. Only two of the Ravenclaws had beaten him. And Hermione was forth right under him. Draco was in the top ten at eighth place. Theo shuddered to think of how he must've been punished for such dismal marks.

_Father hasn't even seen my marks yet! I doubt he knows I got them! He's at the Ministry almost all the time and he only comes home to sleep once and awhile. I wish..._

"Master Theodore?" Liddy popped next to him. "Can Liddy bring Master Theodore something else to eat? Liddy lives to serve Master."

Theo nodded. "That's nice. I don't need anything now." He pushed his half full plate toward her as another idea came into his mind and he began writing notes quickly on pieces of parchment. He didn't want to forget anything.

Liddy scowled at the boy before taking his plate and popping to the kitchen to wash it and start making dinner. Not that anyone would eat it. _I swear, the house elves here have it better than anywhere else! _They didn't want the food to go to waste and the Nott's had no gardens to use compost in. So the house elves ate all the leftovers.

A few hours later Theo pushed away the ink covered parchment that was stacked in front of him. His white shirt and pale hands were splattered with ink from the speed of his writing. He rubbed a hand across his aching head. Pits of the ink began to settle in his hair.

"Liddy." He called the house elf.

"What is Liddy doing for Master?" Liddy popped in seconds later. "Oh no! Master is covered in ink!"

"I need the ink cleaner Liddy and the preservation potion. Quickly!" He snapped. His eyes and head hurt and that was making him short tempered.

Liddy popped to the potions lab in the basement. It was seldom used any more. His Mother had been more interested in potions, mostly poisons. But the Ministry had taken them all. Now the only potions were common household things that his Father made after they'd run out. Simple things like pepper-up and ink begone were no problem.

_Father was a Ravenclaw. His potion skills are good. He would just rather research someone else's new potion than make one himself. _Theo sometimes wished his Father was normal. That he had a normal job and didn't write textbooks and wasn't remembered as the genius who failed half of all his classes because he was busy researching some obscure Amazon Queen from three hundred years ago.

"Liddy is bringing Master Theodore his potions!" Liddy offered him the two small bottles.

"That will be all." He told her curtly, waiting until she popped away to prepare the preservation potion. Theo pulled the paper-sized basin out of the supply cupboard and poured all of the potion into it. He used his wand to top it off with water.

"Good." Theo stirred the mixture with his wand. _It's the right consistency and colour._ He took the next page of his research paper and let it float in the mixture. _Looks good._ Using a levitation charm Theo took the parchment out and set it on a rack to dry. He did the same thing with the rest of the paper before banishing the preservation potion.

"Liddy." He snapped his fingers.

"Yes Master Theodore?" The house elf asked him enthusiastically.

"Please tell Father that we will be leaving for the Ministry in twelve hours. I don't want him getting angry again." Theo took the cloth that Liddy had remembered to bring him this time. He cleaned the ink of his face, hands, and scrubbed at his hair.

_Father gets so angry when he isn't given days of notice. I remembered in Primary school he would get so angry on Sunday nights because he had to take me the next morning. _Theo got up from his desk and looked over the drying parchments.

Liddy popped into the room again. "Master Nott is not happy. But Master has agreed to bring Master Theodore to the Ministry. Master is telling Liddy to be telling Master Theodore to be ready and in the entrance hall at 7 o'clock." She popped away.

_Not this again. _Theo sighed. _I was looking forward to doing some last minute research tonight. Now I've got to go to bed early!_ He snapped his fingers. "Liddy."

The house elf appeared. "Master Theodore what can Liddy do for you?"

Sometimes Theo wished that house elves weren't so enthusiastic. "Wake me up tomorrow morning with breakfast." He snapped. He was feeling his exhaustion and it made him short tempered and cranky.

The second the house elf popped away he left his study and entered a room seldom used at the Nott manor. The bathroom. Both his and his Father's suite had connected bathrooms. But this was the grand bathtub. It was part of the Master suite that was no longer in use.

_Once Mother died and betrayed us Father couldn't stand to be in the rooms any longer. _Theo gathered some of the large, clean, fluffy towels that the house elves set out for them to use everyday. A flick of his wand made the taps turn and begin filling the tub.

He shrugged off his dirty, ink-stained clothing and slid into the tub. Taking a bath was one of Theo's summer rituals. It reminded him of his Mother. The soaps and bubble mixes she had loved were still more than half full and he'd recorded the recipes long ago.

_I remember when I was younger just coming and swimming and relaxing. _The Nott's were not a very physical family. Mr. Nott did not touch his son and Theo didn't touch his Father. _I don't remember the last time he hugged me or shook my hand. He's never punished me either. It's like he doesn't even care. _

Theo washed the ink and grime from his skin. _I'm glad my hair doesn't get greasy. _He thought with a grin imagining Professor Snape with clean hair. Theo respected the Head of Slytherin but he always felt that he'd have fit in better in Ravenclaw. The Slytherins did read and study but it seemed to be more about subjects of questionable legality.

_I've got no problems with the Dark Arts. I just don't want to be a Dark Wizard. I wouldn't want __my wife to be one either. _He added as an afterthought. _Mother was bad enough. Honestly I can't believe __she didn't tell Father she was a Death Eater until she was dying._

Theo had watched the memory in a Pensive. It hadn't been pleasant and his baby self hadn't done anything. Just lay there uselessly. _I'm surprised I survived with the care my Father put into my upbringing._

The sweet, warm water was calming and Theo relaxed into it. The feeling reminded him of being hugged. _Is this what it felt like my Mother hugged me? Did she hug me or was she simply interested in having more purebloods in the world, not in me? Father says she never loved either of us. But I can't believe that._

Theo climbed out of the bath and wrapped in the warm towels. He could dry himself in an instant with a spell, but this was nicer. While he'd been relaxing a house elf had came and took his dirty clothing. There was clean pyjamas too. Theo slipped into the clean flannel.

Another house elf had lit the _Lumos _globes in the hall. For the first time in months the halls were full of light and clean air. The cobwebs had been swept out of the corners too. Theo was almost smiling by the time he reached his room. Everything was working out and he hadn't even triggered the agreement yet.

He crawled into his bed. Which had also been freshly cleaned and made. _I never bother to make my bed. But it definitely does feel nice. _Theo thought as he cuddled into it. _I can't wait for morning._

But his own exhaustion overran his excitement and in a few moments he was sleeping and dreaming about publishing textbooks of his own. And his Father reading to him.

"Wake up Master Theodore." Liddy was shaking him out of a dream where he was receiving an Order of Merlin 1st class.

"Morning?" Theo rolled over to face the house elf. "Morning!" He sprung out of bed. "You can go now." He told the house elf. The smell of his breakfast was intoxicating and he couldn't wait to head to the Ministry in half an hour.

Theo pulled on the formal robes that had been pressed for him. They were dark blue. _I hate blue. But the Nott's have always worn blue and been Ravenclaws. Except for me and Mother. But she wasn't a Nott until she married._

Breakfast was delicious as usual. But Theo had to choke down the fried potatoes, toast, tea, and fruit. He was so anxious and excited to get out of the house. After eating he paused only to grab a research kit and than barreled down the stairs. His Father was already waiting.

"You're almost late." He informed his son. He'd had his nose in book while he waited. But lateness was a cardinal sin in the Nott family. Especially when you were counting on Father to do something. "Let's get going."

The two walked across the grounds until they reached the apparation barrier. Theo had learned how to apparate years ago. His Father had a house elf teach him in an unwarded room. _But the Ministry says I can't even attempt to get a licence until I'm seventeen!_

Theo let his Father latch on to his arm and apparate both of them to the contract workers entrance. A small office guarded the way into the Ministry.

"I must go sign in," Mr. Nott told his son. "Be back here at ten o'clock this evening or I'll leave without you," he threatened.

Theo nodded and headed to the office to find out where to go.

"Can I help you?" A very bored looking intern was sitting in the booth.

"Yes. I'm suppose to meet someone here for my tour of the Department of Mysteries." Theo told the intern. He was glad he'd worn formal robes now. It made him feel more self confident and strong.

"Just a sec." The intern wrote something on a piece of paper then tapped it with his wand. He glanced at a parchment list in front of him. "You're Theodore Nott?"

"Yes sir." Theo nodded.

"I'm not sir." The boy waved a hand. "I want a job at the Ministry. Apparently this is an apprenticeship to Magical Law Enforcement." He laughed.

"I'm here for Theodore Nott." A petite young woman walked into the booth behind the intern. "Is that you?" She peered at Theo from behind thick glasses.

"Yes. I am him. I meant, I'm Theodore Nott." Theo stammered out. Something about the girl terrified him.

"Come along." She stalked regally out of the booth.

"Good luck kid." The intern whispered as he left the room.

Theo followed the girl in Ministry robes through the long, twisting, stone halls of the Ministry. It got colder as they moved in deeper and the stones had droplets of water from the condensation in the air. They finally stopped outside a door. The girl turned to face him.

"Welcome to the Department of Mysteries. I am Unspeakable Brennan. I will be your guide. In order to guarantee your survival you must listen to all of my orders and obey without hesitation. Failure to comply with rules will result in protective measures. You may be hexed or jinxed for your own safety. Write down and touch nothing unless instructed. The Ministry of Magic will obliviate anyone publishing classified information."

The entire speech had a forced, memorized feel to it and the girl said it in a rush before opening the door. "Go on in."

Theo pulled a notebook and an auto re-fill quill from his research it and held them at the ready. But the next room was disappointing. It was just another room with more doors.

"How do you remember which door is which?" Theo asked as he spun in a slow circle.

"Like this." The girl smiled and sent a bolt of light at the door they had just come through. She barked a word in a strange language and the doors instantly changed colours. "It's locked in order to protect the secrets. Only someone with the password can unlock it and it changes daily." She smiled at the awestruck look on his face. "Where are you suppose to go anyway? I never asked."

"Hall of Prophecy." Theo said quickly. "I'm writing a paper on it."

Unspeakable Brennan raised an eyebrow. "You're writing a paper on prophecies? Half the Unspeakables can't even do that."

Theo sighed. "I'm Nott senior's son." _That usually explains things._

But she only frowned. "I thought he was dead. He wrote most of the textbooks for Unspeakables and some for Hogwarts. I didn't know he was still alive."

"Well he is! He's writing a healing textbook now." Theo told her with a proud smile.

"Good luck then. But prophecies are tricky things. I don't understand them myself." Brennan shrugged.

They spent the rest of the short walk talking about Hogwarts and their classes. Unspeakable Brennan had been a Hufflepuff and she had great insight into the badger house.

"We're not all weak and fluffy. Don't underestimate the house. Ah, here we are." She pointed her wand at the door in front of them.

Theo took a cautious step forward. The room was filled with long, narrow shelves. Millions of glass globes filled the shelves. It was very still and very quiet.

"Wait." A hand caught his shoulder and he jumped a mile. "Don't touch any of the globes." Brennan warned him. "Only if your name's on it can you touch it. Take whatever notes you like. I'll meet up with you in half an hour."

"Okay." Theo accepted the watch she handed him. "Thanks." Then he headed into the rows.

Theodore spent the next six hours wandering through the shelves and boxes of globes. Every thirty minutes Unspeakable Brennan appeared and checked on him. But he was always fine. After his initial fright he'd adjusted to the quiet, stillness of the hall and was almost enjoying himself.

"Al-right." Brennan appeared in front of him again. "Next time I come you have to leave. It's getting late and it's almost time for my shift."

Theo nodded and started working faster. _I could work in here forever. It's amazing. Wait a second. What's this? _

One of the globes was glowing as he approached it. _None of the others have done this. _Theo got closer to the shelf.

The globe read _Prophecy: made November 1904. Concerning Theodore Nott and _______

"What!" Theo grabbed the globe. _It does have my name on it after all._ It felt warm in his hand. "What is it?" _It was made years before I was born and who's the blank person? I've got to listen to this!_ But something told him to wait until he got home. To not be impulsive. So he took a sample bag out of the kit and wrapped the globe in it.

All too soon Unspeakable Brennan was back. "Time to go Nott junior." She took his arm and apparated back to the contract workers office. "Hope your paper turns out." With a wave she disapparated away.

"There you are." Mr. Nott grabbed his son's arm. "You're almost twenty seconds late! How dare you keep me waiting!"

Theo stifled the need to roll his eyes. "Sorry Father. I won't do it again."

"You better not!" The man apparated back to the boundary of Nott manor and set off quickly toward the house. Theo followed more slowly. He was in no rush to get home or walk next to his angry and irritated Father.

The prophecy was unharmed when Theo pulled it out of his research kit. He sighed in relief. The glass felt so strange sitting in his hand in his study. It felt... out of place. As if it actually belonged in the Hall of Prophecy.

"Tell me your secrets." He murmured quietly to it. One of the books he'd read that was what one said if they wanted to hear a prophecy from a globe. And sure enough it spoke.

_"The one who sits to the left of the blues flames_

_Dark Peril of the Father come to thee_

_Beware of those who need not speak_

_Something deep within thyself must be tamed_

_Watch for her omen in the shape of a bee_

_Only to Theo Nott the protector of the weak."_

Theo puzzled over the words. "We use blue witch fire in potions class. I'll have to find out who sits on my left. My Father's peril is Mother. Does that mean I'll marry a Death Eater too? Telepaths don't need to speak..." He continued to ponder the first few lines until late into the night.

The next week Theo did nothing but work on his prophecy. It terrified him. _I don't want to have a fate! I want to do my own things! _He worked so hard that his paper was left unfinished and his research uncompleted.

With the threat of the prophecy hanging over him everything else was forgotten. Liddy forced two meals into him and gave up after that. He didn't change his clothes or bathe. He did use the bathroom but since he wasn't eating it didn't take up most of his time. Even sleeping wasn't done. A catnap here, an hour or two there. Theo was nervous and when he was nervous he closed himself off and worked.

On the eighth day the charm on his Nott ring went off. He didn't notice the gentle pulse of light or hear the soft beeping noise. It continued for almost six hours before stopping. But he didn't budge from his seat or notice the distraction on his finger.

"Master Theodore!" Liddy popped into his study.

Theo glared up at her. "I told you I don't want to be bothered! Get!"

Liddy wrung her hands. "Master Theodore has a guest! Liddy is bring up Master Theodore's guest!" She popped out.

Theo growled. _I don't have time for this! I still haven't figured the prophecy out! And who would bother me in the summer?_

"Mr. Nott. What have you done to yourself?"

Theo glanced up. "Madame Pomfrey?"

"I told you I didn't want to go through this again this summer." The Hogwarts mediwitch leaned against the desk and looked at the boy she'd been sent to take care of. "Your Father and Professor Snape set this up. Do you remember?"

Theo rubbed his eyes. They still hurt and he was finding it hard to see things. "Yes. But I didn't do anything self destructive! I'm just studying!"

"I set your watch off. If you'd gone to bed immediately and then eaten I wouldn't be here. But you didn't. Your Father was in a sorry state too. What can I do with the two of you?" She shook her head sadly.

"Leave and let me keep working." Theo suggested.

"No. I cannot do that." Madame Pomfrey reached into her deep pocket and pulled out a tiny vial. "Will you take this?"

"No! I'm fine. And I'm trying to study!" Theo tried to stand but he couldn't make his legs obey him.

"I didn't think so." The mediwitch smiled sadly before spelling the small amount of sleeping draft into her patient. He fell asleep instantly. That little potion only did that to someone who was on the point of falling over from exhaustion. She tapped his ring twice and the portkey took him to the Hospital wing.

"I should have sent him to St. Mungo's. Maybe then he'd pay a little more attention to what his body needs." She walked out to find her second case of working yourself to death.

***********

Theo groaned and tried to raise his hands to his head but found that he couldn't move.

"You're finally awake. I'll get Madame Pomfrey." Theo could half hear the familiar voice above him and he heard a set of heeled boots walk off.

"Morning Mr. Nott!" The energized voice of Madame Pomfrey brought Theo out of his sleep entirely.

His eyes shot open and he looked up at her. "What's going on? Why can't I move? Where am I?" The ceiling didn't look like one he'd seen before.

"Glad to see you're more yourself." She said happily before taking out her wand and casting a diagnostic charm. "How do you feel?"

"Fine." Theo took a moment to think. _I do feel fine! She'd better believe me!_

But she didn't believe him. Madame Pomfrey narrowed her eyes and looked down at him. "Are you positive? I can't help you if I don't know that some thing's wrong." She warned him.

"Honestly I'm fine." Theo tried to move again. "Could you let me loose? Please?"

"Fine." The mediwitch lifted the immobilising spell with a flick of her wand. "Better?"

"Thanks." Theo reached up to rub his eyes but a painful pulling sensation in his hand made him stop. "What's this?" He asked. _Is this a needle? I thought that was a barbaric muggle practice._

"An I.V. It gives you fluids and nutrients intravenously. You couldn't eat anything and too many nutrient potions aren't good to give a person." Madame Pomfrey tugged his other hand away from it. "I'll take it out later. Don't play with it." She warned him.

"Fine." Theo pulled himself into a sitting position. "Can I have something to read?"

Madame Pomfrey groaned but someone else slammed a package of papers. Theo tried to look up to who else was in there but he was ordered differently. "Don't look at me. Just read the papers Nott."

Theo looked at the first one. It was a medical report. _This is my medical report. _He pulled it closer in order to see the orders. The only way he could read anything was if it was up right next to his face. _This is a medical report from when I was six! _He paged quickly through the rest of the papers. They were all medical reports.

"Do you see anything in common in these reposts?" The voice demanded. Theo looked up and saw his Head of House.

"Professor!"

"Just answer the question Nott." Professor Snape demanded.

"Yes. They're all medical reports."

"And all of them are for overwork! You've been to St. Mungo's, the hospital wing, even a muggle hospital! When will you learn!" The angry man thundered down at him.

"Sorry." Theo shrugged. "I'll try harder."

"That's the problem Nott. You always say that. You need to actually do it for once." Madame Pomfrey scolded.

Theo scowled. "I just-"

"No excuses." Professor Snape turned and headed back to the mediwitch's office.

"You'll be staying here for the rest of the summer." Madame Pomfrey told him sternly. "So will your Father."

"And Draco's here too!" Theo remembered.

"Yes. Now you may do something before lunch. After lunch you need to go back to sleep." She looked down at him. "What would you like to do? This is not a prison."

"Can I write a letter?" Theo asked. "I need to ask a friend something."

"Of course." The mediwitch gave him parchment, quill and ink.

"Thanks." Theo put the quill down and started composing his letter to Pansy.

***********

**Next: **Pansy Parkinson and all her little brothers.


	4. Pansy

**Disclaimer: **JKR owns everything and everyone. I own nothing.

Cloud over Summer- Pansy Parkinson

_Pansy Parkinson,_

_I need to borrow another book. I'd like to see you again too. Maybe we could visit the rose garden again?_

_I need you to bring the Prophecy book to school. The enormous one on seers that your mother use to read._

_I'd really like that Pansy. It would make me very happy._

_Your friend, Theodore Nott._

Pansy sighed with delight and put her letter back down next to her plate. _Theo's so romantic! I wish we could spend more time together. . ._

But Pansy had been betrothed to Draco Malfoy when she was only six months old. It was a good match. Two powerful, rich families would join. If only Draco was a little more desirable. Theo on the other hand made Pansy's heart race and he made her happy.

They'd escaped to the rose garden one day in the fall. They hadn't done anything but talk. But Pansy felt happy and connected with him in a way she never could with Draco. _If only Father understood. I know Mother would have._

When she thought of her Mother, Pansy looked back up from her fancy breakfast. Her Mother, Elizabeth Hellenic-Parkinson sat stone still across the table.

"Eat Mother. This is good food." Pansy encouraged her. It was fruitless of course. Elizabeth hadn't eaten anything on her own since the horrible day nine years ago.

"It's no use Pans." Mathias told her. "I still talk to her everyday. She's not going to do anything."

Pansy scowled at her younger brother. "Don't call me Pans! And Mother knows that we love her. She just can't communicate her love to use."

"Sure." Mathias glared at his older sister. He was eleven now and she was only twelve. And he was determined to do even better at Hogwarts than she had.

"I love Mother!" Timmis spoke up. He was the quietest child in the family. He was only nine and as a middle child he was left out of a lot of things. He wasn't grown up enough and he wasn't small enough. Just caught in the middle.

"Tilly!" Pansy called her Mother's primary care elf.

"Yes Mistress?" The little elf bowed. Her tea towel toga was neat and clean. Just like it had been before Elizabeth was kissed.

"Feed Mother her breakfast." Pansy ordered before turning back to her own toast.

"Yes Mistress." Tilly picked up a spoon and began to gently feed the older woman a bowl of hot cereal.

"Pansy!" Ivan Parkinson roared for his only daughter. He sat at the other end of the very long table with the two youngest boys.

Pansy sighed and got up. Sometimes she wondered why she bothered to sit with the older boys. Every single morning she was called to deal with her brothers. She was the Lady of the House and it was her job to care for the children and deal with the house elves.

"Deal with these two. And don't bother me today. I've got an important meeting." Father got up, pushed his chair in, and hurriedly left the room to answer the chiming door bell.

_Important meeting! Not likely! He's probably got his latest girlfriend over for the day. _Pansy took her Father's vacated seat between the to young boys. "Morning boys!"

"I'm tired Pansy." Jackal complained. He was used to being babied and cared for, but after his sixth birthday Father had decided that he needed to grow up and learn to be a real wizard.

"You can sleep soon." Pansy told him. "Just eat some breakfast first." She cut up Tempest's toast for him. If it was left whole he always got it everywhere and made a complete mess of himself and the table.

"Pansy!" Father's voice roared from his office.

Pansy sighed. _It would be nice if one morning I was able to get dressed and eat my breakfast before I had to start working. I'm only twelve! _But she hurried into her Father's office and study.

Ivan Parkinson sat in an impressive leather office chair behind his magnificent desk. All the Dark artefacts had been removed ages ago and the room was pleasant enough. Except that the man who used it was scowling down at the girl in front of him.

"The Malfoy's are asking about the betrothal again. You'll need to neaten up and become closer to Draco in school. It's an important match."

Pansy bowed her head. _Draco's a stuck up jerk who let's his father do everything for him! _"Yes father."

"And I'm having a guest tonight. Have the house elves prepare a meal and join me at the table." He frowned at her clothing. "And put on something nice."

Pansy tugged self-consciously at her old nightgown. It was comfortable and she liked. It just wasn't the kind of thing a pureblood girl was suppose to wear. Especially a pureblood of her status as she was constantly reminded.

"You may leave." Father spun around and diverted his attention to a pile of papers on his side desk. Pansy stood up and quickly returned to her room.

"Pansy?" Mathias stood in the doorway. He looked neat enough. But his face was covered in jam still.

"Yes?" Pansy took a handkerchief off her bed and cleaned off his face. "What is it?"

"I wanted to know if I could borrow your first year textbooks?" He asked quietly.

Pansy was surprised. No one in her family was very interested in books and learning. Their library would have been better off with someone else. _Like the Nott's._ "Sure." She handed him the pile of books. "Enjoy. Anything else?"

"Mother needs you." He said before quickly scurrying out of the room.

Pansy sighed_. Why did Mum have to be a Death Eater? It would have been so nice if she hadn't been kissed. _She changed out of her nightgown into neat summer robes and some decent jewellery before hurrying to see to her mother.

Elizabeth sat motionless on the bed in the Master bedroom. It wasn't an impressive room, but her mother couldn't appreciate the simple beauty. The walls were in her very colour of rich brown that matched the bedspread and the wood of the walls.

"Good morning." Pansy said. She smiled, but it was a pointless gesture. "What would you like to wear today?"

Pansy didn't get an answer, but she wasn't expecting one. She crossed to the large, walk-in closet on the other side of the room and threw open the closet doors. It wasn't as big or nice as her own closet at Malfoy manor, but it was still larger than most.

"Any ideas?" Pansy asked. She often talked to herself while she was looking after her mother. It helped her feel less alone. "How about this?" She pulled a robe in the same rich brown off a hanger along with matching shoes and jewellery.

"Tilly!" Pansy snapped her fingers. "Hilly!" She snapped her fingers again. Two house elves popped into the room.

"These are Mistress Elizabeth's clothings?" Tilly took the things out of Pansy's arms. "I will be dressing Mistress Elizabeth."

Hilly bowed and neatened her tea towel. "What can I be doing for Mistress Pansy?"

"There is to be a dinner party tonight. See that there is good food."

Hilly bowed deeply. "Hilly is cooking a wonderful meal for Master Parkinson. Mistress need not worry." She popped back to the kitchen.

Pansy headed quickly for her own bedroom. On the way she stopped to check on everyone else. Her mother was still staring at the wall, dressed neatly in the brown robes. Her brothers were playing or heading outside with their brooms. Mathias hadn't abandoned the books yet. He was still bent over his desk.

The room was still neat and tidy from the last time Pansy had cleaned it. She didn't have much time to spend in it making messes. A quick shower helped her to feel neater and Pansy chose robes of pale pink to offset the dark colours her father and mother always wore. Then she got out her summer homework.

Pansy hadn't touched any of her books since the day she'd got home, and after putting them on shelves she hadn't spared them and look. But Theo's letter had reminded her about homework and she knew that if she wanted to have any time to spend with Theo her homework had better be done. She didn't fancy the month of detention Snape supposedly assigned to students who didn't finish the assignments.

"Pansy?" A few hours later a voice shook her out of the boredom she'd sunk into.

"Yes?" Pansy sat up straighter and shuffled around her piles of Astronomy notes. "Come in."

Mathias entered the room timidly. His robes were neatly pressed and rather new looking save the ink spots covering the sleeves. For a moment Pansy was angry. _Clothes are to be worn! Not covered in ink!_

"I need some help." The boy admitted.

Pansy was shocked. Mathias had never asked her for help before. He was the first born son, the heir, and Father's favourite. He'd always behaved rather rudely. And he was her brother. "What do you want help with?" She asked.

Mathias came over to her desk and took the second chair before putting her old notes and textbook down. "I don't understand this." He pointed to a paragraph in the Herbology book.

Pansy groaned softly. Herbology was not her strong point. "I'll try to help you. But I'm bad at Herbology." Luckily his question was easy to answer. Pansy did have a use for plants that were used to make cosmetics and hair supplies.

"Thanks." Mathias told her with happy, shining eyes. "I hope I'm in Slytherin with you. I want Theo's help with all these more advanced concepts." He motioned to the advanced Arithmancy books that he was always trying to explain to her.

Pansy raised her neatly plucked eyebrows. "Careful." She warned. "Too much thinking like that and you'll end up in Ravenclaw."

Mathias just shrugged. "Father was in Ravenclaw, wasn't he?"

"No!" Pansy took _The Ancient and Most Noble House of Parkinson _off the top shelf of her bookcase. "Go read this." At his hesitation she pulled herself up to her full height. "Now!" Mathias scampered away clutching the book.

Whenever Pansy asked questions her Father had either simply not answered or made her read long, boring books and write reports on them. That made Pansy totally lose interest in all forms or reading and writing. She turned back to her Astronomy notes and diagrams.

After another thirty minutes Pansy dropped the notes and groaned. _I hate Astronomy! It's stupid and boring and mind numbingly dull!_ She pushed the parchments away and grabbed a fresh piece. This time she dipped her quill in purple ink and began to sketch more robe designs.

Pansy had grown up with her Father, brothers and a few house elves. Once and awhile she'd spend sometime at Malfoy Manor and talk to Narcissa, but her contact with woman was very scarce. Except for magazines.

Ivan Parkinson hadn't cancelled his wife's subscriptions to any of her many magazines and journals. He simply let his many girlfriends read them. Pansy found them lying around and started reading about robes, cosmetics, and other women.

Pansy had immediately focused on the models and made the people in the magazines her idols and role models. The moving pictures showed beautiful, popular, confident people. Like Pansy wanted to be. She'd learned as much about everything as she could and let herself be sucked up by the media.

If she had a choice Pansy knew that she wanted to work at a magazine. Not marry Draco Malfoy. Arranged marriages were behind the times and not fashionable. She didn't see why she had to marry him. He was rich, but so was she. Her dowry was large and he'd pay a very high bride price for her.

Father always brushed off her concerns. "You'll learn to love him. I did with your mother." He always assured her. Somehow that didn't reassure her. Maybe it was because mother was soulless and her father slowly losing his sanity.

There was nothing wrong for a kissed person's spouse to seek other lovers and company. But to do so publicly was a horrible offence. Ivan Parkinson was still married and he'd nearly gotten his family in deep trouble when he'd been a little too friendly with some of the women at the Malfoy Yule ball.

Pansy looked at the new design she'd finished sketching. It was strange. A low neck line, high cut sleeves and deep folds in the bottom hid a pant like separation. _It's almost like a Quidditch or a duelling robe. _Pansy thought. _Just for party or everyday wear. _She blew on the ink and put the dry parchment into a folder of other designs.

"Pansy!"

A quick glance at the clock let her know it was time for dinner with a girlfriend and her Father. Pansy hurried to the dining room. She stopped and picked up her mother but came as quickly as she could.

"Father." Pansy sank into a quick curtsy and pulled her mother along with her.

"This is your daughter?" The woman on her father's arm was very young and very pretty by her father's usual standards. She was looking down at Pansy as if she were a piece of dirt.

"Yes Emma." Father kissed her. "Don't worry. My sons are much better and she'll leave as soon as dinner's over."

Emma scowled. _She doesn't look pretty now! _Pansy noted as Emma flounced after her boyfriend into the dining room. Pansy followed behind, trying to ignore the evil looks her father was sending in her direction. At least he didn't hang back and tell her off for bringing her mother. Pansy needed the woman there. Even if she was kissed, her presence gave her only daughter strength.

"Dinner!" Father clapped his hands sharply and sat down. After he was seated Pansy sat quickly, pulling her mother along with her. Her father loved following the custom of everyone else waiting for him to be seated first. It made him feel special.

"This is excellent." Emma said after the first three courses had been served. "Your elves have outdone themselves."

Father smiled and leaned closer to her. "You should see the things they can do with chocolate and cream."

Pansy watched uncomfortably as they came closer together and began to kiss. She cleared her throat nervously. "Father?"

He glared at her after the kiss had been broken. "Get out of here." He hissed. "And take that woman with you!" He nodded toward her mother.

Pansy took advantage of his dismissal and got out of the dining hall as quickly as she could. Dining with her father's guests was always a disappointment. It made her wish more than ever that her mother could come back to life and save her from it. And act like a mother to the children and the mistress of the house.

The next weeks passed in quiet stillness. The days stayed routine and Theo didn't return her letter. _I did send a book with it. He probably just read the book and ignored the letter. That would defiantly be like Theo._ Her summer homework was finished and she'd gotten the books for the next year.

The next morning her father made a startling announcement.

"Emma has invited me to her summer cottage." He told them. A house elf walked behind him, carrying his bags. His robe was a short, fashionable, summer style. "She had this robe made for me."

Pansy pulled her hair out her face. It was a mess and it felt greasy and gross on the back of her neck. "Whose going to stay with us?" She asked. _I hope it isn't Grandmother. She never helps with anything. And we haven't got very many relatives._

Ivan Parkinson gave his daughter a rather twisted smile. "You will of course. Along with your mother. The lady of the house is expected to care for it when her master is called away."

Pansy gapped open mouthed at the man. "Father I-I can't! I don't know how! I'm only twelve!"

"Then ask your mother. You seem to consult her more than you consult me." With that last remark he headed out the front door, leaving his family sitting shocked around the breakfast table.

Mathias put a reassuring hand on his sister's arm. "Don't worry. I'll give you a hand."

That day Pansy found out exactly how difficult it was to run a wizarding household. Countless floo calls had to be answered, meals had to be ordered, laundry and children seen to. She didn't have a single spare moment.

"Jackal peed the bed!" Tempest cried as he burst into his sister's room at three o'clock in the morning. "It's all stinky and wet!"

Pansy had woken up suddenly when she'd heard him cry out, in case there had been a real emergency. But now she'd lost the reason to stay awake and she could feel her eyes starting to slip closed. "Just a sec. . ." Her eyes snapped shut and she rolled over to face the wall.

"Pansy!" Jackal shook her again. "Please?" He made giant doe eyes at her.

"All right. All right." Pansy swung her legs over the side of the bed. "But tomorrow you wake up Mathias if you have any problems." It was too late and she only wanted to go back to bed.

The boys bedroom wasn't far. Jackal and Tempest shared a room. Soon Jackal would get his own room, but for now the house elves liked him in the nursery so they could still look after the six year old.

"Tilly!" Pansy snapped her fingers. _Tilly's mother's house elf. But I can't be bothered to think of an elf to clean this up._

The elf popped into the room. She also looked tired and her eyes kept slipping closed. "Yes Mistress Pansy?" She said, trying to hide a yawn at the end.

"Clean up this mess." Pansy's told the elf as she motioned around the room. "Then you may get back to bed."

"Pansy?" Jackal whimpered. "Is that you?"

"Yes. Now get up." Pansy helped him out of his wet pyjamas and into the shower. "Wash quickly." She told him and returned to hunt for a pair of clean sleep clothes in the messy room.

Jackal emerged wet and shivering a few minutes later. He accepted the pyjamas and slipped into the warm material.

"Here." Pansy handed both of her brothers their slippers. "We'll set you up down the hall." The three set off to another double bedroom close by. The manor had no shortage of guest bedrooms and a great many of them were kept ready for anyone who might happen to stop by.

"This should do." Pansy pushed open the door. The room had been recently cleaned and the light blue paint and darker bedspread made the room seem very welcoming. "Sleep well." She tucked her brothers in before heading back up the stairs to her own bedroom that seemed warmer and the bed more comfortable than ever before.

The next morning the entire household slept in. It was ten o'clock when the house elves came to wake Pansy. And they did they only out of necessity. They'd have left her to sleep longer if there hadn't have been a guest requesting her presence.

"Mistress Pansy must go and receive her guest! He is very determined to speak to her!" The house elf said as it hurried around her room. "Hurry, hurry Mistress Pansy!"

Pansy didn't hurry. But she didn't dawdle or take the time to shower. She put on clean robes, fixed her hair and made her way to the sitting room that the floo was connected to. _It had better not be Draco. I'm really not in the mood to see anyone. I just want to get back to bed._ But the person waiting fro her made her forget all of her complaints.

"Miss Parkinson."

"Professor Snape!" Pansy cried. She remembered signing the list to get a visit. But it seemed so long ago. In her business she entirely forgotten that he still hadn't shown up.

"Can I help you with anything Miss Parkinson?" He asked. He raised an eyebrow at her hair and clothes. Neither was half as tidy as they were in school. She'd run out of time to spend on her appearance once her father had left.

"I don't think I need any help right now. . ." Pansy admitted. But she spoke too soon.

"Pansy! Jackal just let all the flying horses out of their stalls! They're flying all over the yard!" Mathias came running in. "You've got to get them!"

Pansy got to her feet. "I'm sorry sir. I'll be right back." She told the Professor apologetically.

Snape stood up a second later. "I'll come along. Perhaps I'll be able to help." He followed her out into the courtyard.

Pansy only stopped for a moment to step into outdoor shoes. The muck of the stables was not something she wanted on her robe. It was one of her own creations and her favourite one yet.

The sky around the house was full of flying horses. The large, beautiful creatures had taken to the winds as soon as they could. The foals followed along as quickly as they could.

"Beautiful." Snape whispered. He wasn't a fan of animals. But something in the grace and colour of the majestic horses caught his eye.

Pansy called a smaller horse to her. It's grey dapple coat made it stand out in the crowd of darker animals and the fine structure made it unlike the rest of the stockier beasts.

"Come my little one. We'll bring the others back." She swung onto the horse's back and took to the sky.

Horse and rider worked as one to fly quickly to the front of the flock. Pansy used a charmed whistle and riding crop to force them to the ground before herding them back into the stable where the house elves took over.

Then Pansy walked back outside to find Jackal sitting in the dust and whining about how all the pretty horses had disappeared. Professor Snape was glaring at him. But parenting wasn't his job.

"I'm very sorry about that sir." Pansy apologized again once they were inside.

"Not a problem. But couldn't your father have taken care of that?" Snape asked. "Is he here? I need to speak with him after our meeting."

"Oh, no sir. He's not here. He'll be gone for a few weeks, he went off to visit one of his friends." Pansy explained.

"And he left you here? Is there anyone else coming to look in on you?" Snape asked her. His expression had changed, and was now unreadable.

"Of course. Mother and I are perfectly capable of taking care of everything." Pansy told him.

"Your father left his five children under the care of a kissed woman and the eldest child herself?" Snape hissed. Some how he was scarier than he ever was in class. Pansy never wanted to see him like this again. "Please excuse me." He headed back to the floo and made a few calls.

"Sir?" Pansy asked when he finally withdrew his head from the fire. "What are you doing?"

Snape brushed the ash from his robes. "Finding a place for you too stay."

Pansy's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

But Snape was spared from answering her question when a middle-aged woman stepped out of the fire. "Severus? I came as quickly as I could."

"Sparrow." Severus bent over and kissed her offered hand. "May I introduce you to Pansy Parkinson and Elizabeth Hellenic-Parkinson."

"Pleasured." Sparrow dipped into a shallow curtsy.

"Same." Pansy returned her curtsy, but a shade deeper. She wasn't sure what to make of the woman. _She wears robes, and wears them well. She's obviously wizard raised. Her jewellery proclaims wealth. But she knows Professor Snape and she's willing to take care of six important pureblood wizards without permission from the head of the family._

"Miss Parkinson, this is Sparrow Kurt. She's a distant relative of your father. She has a daughter a year younger than you. And she's agreed to care for your family for the rest of the summer." Snape explained. "Now if you'll excuse me. I need to be on my way." He didn't wait for an answer and simply floo'd out.

"Is there anything you need to bring?" Sparrow asked. "My house elves can provide you almost everything you'll need."

Pansy considered her things. Almost all of it was replaceable. "Just a few minutes. I'll throw a few things together." She smiled and hurried off to her bedroom to pack.

About thirty minutes later Pansy re-entered the room, this time with her book bag. She'd taken all her school books, homework, and a few sets of clothing. Her brothers were also gathered in front of the fireplace with bags on their backs.

"There you are." Sparrow stood up from where she'd taken a seat on one of the sofas. "We were just waiting for you." She walked to the front of the gathering and took Elizabeth's arm tightly in her hands.

"We're flooing to my family home. My daughter won't return until tonight, but my husband should be there to meet us." With that message she threw a handful of the green powder into the fire, stepped in and called out her destination. "Avian dugout!" The two women disappeared in a whirl of flames.

Pansy oversaw the rest of the departure. The younger boys went with their brothers, leaving her to follow alone. But Jackal loved flooing and had a hard time getting out of the way quickly so she waited until he would have had time to move out of the way. Then she stepped into the fire. "Avian dugout!" And followed the rest of them through a path of fireplaces.

"Pansy." Mathias gave her hand up. She still hadn't mastered flooing and ended up on the floor far too frequently after a trip.

"Miss Parkinson." A tall, dark skinned man bowed to kiss her hand. Sparrow stepped beside him. Her small size was more visible than ever when she stood next to a taller than average person.

"This is my partner. Simon Habib." She said. At Pansy's confused look she explained. "We're not married. Simon's grandfather offered to bind us in a magical pack of love. Sort of a stronger version of marriage vows. But we aren't husband and wife. We're partners."

"Enough talk. Let's show them the rest of the house." Simon took his partner's hand and led the Parkinsons on a tour of their new home.

The house was amazing. The entire thing was located underground and quite cool. But unlike the dungeons at Hogwarts it wasn't constructed from stone, but tightly packed dirt and metal panels. The only way to get to the surface was through a magical elevator. But the house was amazingly large. Both Sparrow and Simon were healers and they had their practice in the house. It was called Avian clinic.

The next set of rooms explained why the place was named after birds. An enormous collection of live topical and common birds filled several rooms. There was even a few birds of prey with large hunting falcons that Simon sometimes used to relax on his days off.

"This will be the boys' room." Sparrow opened a door. The room was large and had a great many magical windows that showed scenes of the teeming metropolis above them. There was a wash room at the end of the room and chests in front of each of the beds.

"It looks like the dorms at Hogwarts." Pansy said. Even the colours- green and blue- reminded her of her bed in Slytherin.

"I didn't attend Hogwarts." Sparrow admitted. "I was sent to Durmstrang. Along with Simon."

Pansy was momentarily horrified. _Durmstrang is a school for junior death eaters! How could Professor Snape send us here?_

"Come Pansy." Sparrow beckoned the girl out of the room. "You don't have to stay with your brothers."

Pansy cracked a small smile. "Thanks."

"But first we are going to stop off at my favourite room." Sparrow pushed open a large, cool metal door in front of them and led Pansy into the cavern beyond the doorway.

"Amazing." Pansy breathed.

And the room before her was an impressive sight. A large pool, twice the size of Draco's warmed up lake, filled the cavern. It was sunk into the floor and around the edges, and fancy chairs and tables made it looks almost like a beach restaurant.

"I love coming here and relaxing. Nadia tries to swim every singles day." Sparrow said with a smile.

"Nadia? Is that your daughter?" Pansy asked.

"Yes." Sparrow led the way out of the room again. "Nadia is eleven. At first I was worried that she was a squib. But yesterday a few letters arrived inviting her to wizarding school."

"A few? I only received a Hogwarts letter." Pansy was confused.

Sparrow laughed. "Well, I was suppose to go to Hogwarts, so she got one of those. I went to Durmstrang so she got a letter from them. The muggle school sent us a letter and she also got an invitation to a school in India."

"Wow. Where's she going to go?" Pansy asked. _Maybe Hogwarts? Then she'd be in the same year as Mathias._

"She hasn't decided yet. I'm going to let her choose." Sparrow stopped walking outside a plain white door. "Here we are." She opened it and let Pansy into the room.

Pansy looked around the room. It had two neatly made beds placed on either side with a curtain that could be drawn to divide the room in half. The walls and bedspreads matched in tones of dark purples. One side of the room was already filled with belongings. The other held only Pansy's bag.

"Is this your daughter's room?" Pansy asked. It seemed unlikely that a half lived in room would exist for her to stay in.

"Yes. Nadia has always wanted an older sister. And now the opportunity has presented itself. Amazing." Sparrow smiled. "I hope you like it here. Nadia should be arriving shortly." Sparrow left the room, pulling the door shut tightly behind here.

Pansy pulled the curtain across the centre of the room. _I just want to be alone. It'll help me relax. Then I'll __be__ ready to meet my new room mate. I've had to share a room before. But I'm nervous about meeting Nadia. She's only eleven._

Pansy leaned back into the hard pillow on her bed to think. It wasn't the most comfortable thing she'd ever laid on, but it was nice to have something to rest on. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to slip away into daydreams.

"I hate music lessons!"

An angry declaration awoke Pansy from her nap. She slid off the narrow bed and hit the floor loudly. "Ow." She sat up slowly. She'd hit the floor much harder than she would have liked to.

The curtain was pulled aside and a head of shiny, lack hair stuck through. "Hi!" A girl bounced onto Pansy's side of the room. "You must be Pansy. I'm Nadia." She offered her hand and hauled the other girl off the ground.

"And you don't like music?" Pansy asked. She saw the edge of an instrument case on her room mate's bed.

"I just don't like my music teacher. She's nasty. I love playing flute. Just not the way she wants me to!" Nadia moaned and fell backward dramatically onto her bed.

"That's a pity." Pansy smirked. "We don't study music at Hogwarts. You'd be free to play however you like." _And I could use a friend among my brother's possible friends._

"I know. I'm going to Hogwarts. Not like my parents." Nadia smiled. "The uniform is much nicer than in Durmstrang. Even if it is all in black."

_Why would she care what colour our robes are? She's wearing black right now._ "I hope you like Hogwarts." Pansy shrugged mentally. _I'm sure I'll get along with her. And if I don't Father will return at some point._

_"_Have you gone swimming yet?" Nadia asked as she peeled off her clothes to revel a one piece swimsuit.

"No. But I have seen the pool. It's quite nice." Pansy looked at her merger clothing. She hadn't packed a swimsuit.

"There should be a suit for you in the closet. I had it get a few things in your size." Nadia nodded to a sunken in wall. Large doors covered it and their finely made handles were well polished.

Pansy opened the closet. And to her surprise it was filled with swimsuits, all in her size. "Amazing!"

"It knows what you want." Nadia told her. She pulled out a green and silver suit. "I think you should wear this one. It will look splendid."

Pansy pulled the curtain and changed into her new suit. It fit her perfectly. As if it had been made for her and the clothes looked very nice on her slim body. She joined the other girl in the hallway. "Let's go swimming!"

The Parkinson family spent the next three days enjoying themselves in the Kurt-Habib household. It was cool and beautiful and the people looked after them.

_What more could I want? _Pansy had been taken to Diagon Alley that morning. She stroked her familiar, an owl named Nero. "You're gorgeous."

"My Father does have an eye for owls." Nadia said as she walked in and overheard the comment. "He supplies some of the birds to the shop. Nero was one of owls I helped raise and train."

Pansy stroked the owl again. This time deeper, she run her fingers through the thick feathers. "I love you. Thanks for telling me Nadia."

"No problem." Nadia stroked her own owl. When she'd declared her choice of Hogwarts her parents had insisted she take their best owl and write home as often as possible. "Who are you going to write to first?"

Pansy paused to think. _Who do I want to write to? One of the other girls. Daphene, maybe I can convince her to get a familiar too._ "I think I'll write to my friend Daphene. Daphene Greengrass."

"Sure." Nadia handed Pansy a roll of parchment, a bottle of ink, and a sharp quill.

"Thanks." Pansy put her quill in the ink and began her letter to Daphene.

**Next chapter: Daphene Greengrass.**


	5. Daphene

**Disclaimer: **JKR owns everything and everyone. I own nothing and make no money from writing fan fiction.

Cloud over Summer-Daphene Greengrass

_Hello Daphene,_

_How's your summer been? Mine has been very busy. I finished all our summer homework. But wasn't as hard as I expected. Have you even opened your books yet?_

_And I got a familiar! He's a large horned owl, and I named him Nero. He's my favorite bird. Even better that Draco's._

_Father found another girl. Her name's Emma. She invited him on vacation so he left the rest of us at home. Mother wasn't much help, so I had to run everything! It was defiantly not as much fun as I had expected._

_But Professor Snape found us another family to stay with. Sparrow Kurt and Simon Habib. Apparently they are distant relatives of ours. Have you heard of them? Their daughter, Nadia Habib is starting Hogwarts next year. Both her parents went to Durmstrang, but I think she'll end up in Ravenclaw._

_Mathias is excited for school to start too. He borrowed all my first year books to get a head start. If he keeps that up he'll be a Ravenclaw instead of a Slytherin!_

_I hope your summer hasn't been as eventful as mine. See you on September 1st!_

_Pansy Parkinson_

_*_***********

Daphene put down her letter with a snort of laughter. _Uneventful! As if. I just wish I'd had a quiet summer._

She could still hear the noise from the party on the floor beneath her. Despite the late hour the party was still going strong with no signs of stopping. _Sadly, I wish they would turn the music down so I could go to bed._

_This was suppose to be 'a quiet gathering with a few close friends.' Not another party! Not that some of these people aren't close. _Daphene watched as a couple slowly started to try to snog each other's brains out. Daphene moved back to the landing of the staircase. _Obviously the party spilled out of the parlour. It must cover the entire first floor by now. _Food was everywhere and all of the guests seemed to be having the time of their lives.

The Greengrass family were not rich like the Malfoy's or the Nott's. Nor did they have as few galleons as the Weasley's. Their manor was more like a comfortably large house and the grounds were only big enough to hold a small greenhouse and garden. The single house elf didn't have to work very hard to care for the three floors. And although Daphene wished she had some place cool to hang out in there were no dungeons or towers.

_Not that again! _Daphene's eyes widened as her Mother, Jillian danced past the staircase. She was dressed in a skimpy dress and cape set that was held on solely by the tightness of the bodice that encircled her upper body. _I can't believe she gets away with things like this. Parties and other lovers. I know she can't get pregnant. But I wish Father would try to control her sometimes._

Daphene hovered on the stairs for another fifteen minutes before heading her back to her bedroom. It was only one room, not a suite but it was almost as large as the dormitory at school. The white walls reflected the light of the full moon onto the plainness of the room and lit the entire thing up.

Daphene wasn't really interested in collecting countless possessions and her room reflected that. There was nothing on the floor and the only things of hers hung on the wall. Her top of the line broom rested on a rack above her bookshelf that held only her textbooks and the few pieces of homework she'd started. All of her furniture- just a desk, chair and bed- was made out of well worn, plain hardwood.

"Night Circe." Daphene petted her new, blue kitten. "Pansy's got a familiar too now. But I know that you'll be much better."

The kitten meowed in return. Even her teeth had a light blue tinge to them. She'd been a birthday gift to Daphene from her Aunt. Her Aunt's old cat had been having litters of kittens for ages, but her Aunt tried to use a spell to sterilize her, but she was already pregnant. And since Aunt's spells weren't the best, the kittens had ended up with some rather interesting characteristics. six legs, orange and blue colours. But other than that they were normal enough.

_It's so hot tonight! _Daphene was wearing a short, light dress and she was still sweating. The second floor was even warmer than the first. _Maybe I should sleep outside again tonight. I'll try to sleep up here first._

Daphene laid down on top of her covers and tried to get comfortable. But the blankets and her clothes stuck to her body as she tossed and turned. "I give up." She grumbled. Her hair was sticking to the sides of her face. "Come on Circe. We're getting out of here." She scooped up the kitten and head for the stairs.

The heat on the third floor was even more stifling than it was on the first or second floors. It was a windowless attic and the closed in feeling made it seem like an oven. Daphene used a simple spell to open the trapdoor in the ceiling.

"Ah." She sighed as the cool air from the outdoors began to flow into the room. "Love it." Daphene balanced a ladder against the opening and hurried up it. She came to a stop on top of the house.

"This is perfect." A sleeping bag was already laid out on the roof from last night and although the breeze was cool, the shingles were still hot from the heat of the sun. Daphene opened up the sleeping bag and laid down on top of it. She didn't pull it over herself, it was still far too warm.

Child and cat closed their eyes and fell asleep slowly on top of the roof while the people beneath them continued to party.

The sun woke Daphene up early in the morning. It crept over the horizon line. She could have sleep through that. But once the animals caught sight of the sun they woke up and started their day. The songs of birds and calls of insects were not possible to sleep through.

Daphene slipped back into the attic and down to the second floor. She took a cool shower and dressed in light clothing. Because of the heat and environment around them she choose muggle clothing like she usually did during the summer. Shorts and tank tops made more sense than robes in blistering hot, muggle neighbourhoods.

Then she went downstairs. But once she came to the last step she went no further. _We're dead. _Partiers from the night before still covered the floor. Naked people were wrapped around each other and the entire floor stunk of floo.

Daphene tired to ignore the sleepers as she made her way into the kitchen. _All I want is a little breakfast. Is that really too much to ask for?_

The kitchen was party central. More people had squeezed into the small room than were on the rest of the first floor. A few pots were still stewing on the stove, giving for noxious green fumes. Daphene quickly turned off the stove and opened the windows. A large box of vials full of green liquid caught her attention.

"Floo." Daphene wrinkled her nose at the stuff and covered the box. She rooted in the ice box until she located a loaf of bread. Taking the bed and a canteen of water she picked Circe up and hurried to get out of the house before her Father came home. Once he saw the mess the first floor was in there was absolutely no way she would get out of the house.

Her Mother was starting to stir from her place next to the hall closet. Her hair was wild and her eyes had the fuzzy, glass-like look that the floo gave to its victims. _But victims isn't the right word. They choose to take this stuff. Because it 'takes them places'._

"Good morning Mother." Daphene said as she rummaged in the closet. All of her good shoes were in her Hogwarts trunk so she eventually settled on a slightly large pair of slip on shoes. They slid around her feet when she walked but were no more ill-fitting than the rest of her clothes.

Before she opened the door, Daphene paused to examine her appearance in the mirror next to the door. _This is just disgusting. I should have worn robes._ Her clothes were far too big. They belonged to her mother. And her Mother had thrown them out. The tank top was fading and the straps kept slipping off her shoulders while the shorts had been her Father's and were held on with one of his old belts.

_Can't wait to see what the kids have to say about my clothes today. I guess if it bothered me I could wear my robes. But I want to keep them nice for Hogwarts._ At the end of the school Daphene had done as much research about resizing clothes as she could. She ruined half her uniforms before she was able to successfully enlarge them. But she couldn't make clothes smaller. They shrunk until they would fit mice then they disappeared.

_Oh, well. I'll just go hang out at the park and play with Circe. That'll be a fun day. Just like every other._ Daphene pulled on a large sun hat and unlocked the door.

But she had been too slow.

An intoxicated Percival Greengrass barged into the house seconds after his daughter unlocked the door. His face was contorted in a scowl and he held and empty beer bottle in his right hand. He blinked through the alcohol induced faze.

"Daphene?"

Daphene paled. _No, no. Please no!_ "Yes Fater?" She squeaked nervously.

Her Father's face hardened and he seemed to become lost in his memories. Then he struck out at her with the beer bottle. "Worthless bitch! Where's your slut of mother?"

Daphene had taken the beer bottle to the side of her face. She hadn't been expecting the blow and didn't move fast enough to avoid it. Her face smarted and she knew that there was more coming. But she tried to save herself. "There she is Father. There she is." Daphene pointed to her Mother's sleeping form on the floor.

Father stumbled over to his wife. He hit her with the beer bottle. "Where's my son?" He demanded.

Jillian cried out what she got hit. She instinctually shrunk away in fear. Not that it did any good. And she couldn't make him stop. There was no answer to his question.

Daphene watched her mother get hit with the beer bottle. _I'm sorry Mother. But I can't help you. _Daphene had only ever tried to stop her Father once. She'd never tried again, the scars served as reminders.

Once her Mother had managed to roll away from her Father, Percival stopped hitting his wife. It was too much work to chase her down the hall. Especially when there was another victim only a few feet away from him.

"Daphene!" He roared.

Daphene felt dread grab on to her. _I really, really want to avoid this. There must be some way to get out of here. Away from Father._ But she didn't ignore the man. "I'm right here Father." She said as loudly as she could. Being timid wouldn't help either.

The beer bottle surprised her again. Now Daphene could fell something hot and sticky start to drip down her forehead. She flinched away at a hiss of air, but the bottle hit her again. This time it shattered and the end was left sharp.

Daphene looked at the weapon in horror. _No! _She turned and ran out the still unlocked door. She had no place to go. But she ran as hard and fast as she could. It was either that for get seriously hurt. Broken glass was nothing to play around with.

"Hi Daphene!"

Daphene came to a stop in front of the park. She'd play there for the day and find somewhere else to go tonight. _There's no way I'm going back home. I love life._

"Hey." Daphene tried to smile at the girl who was waving to her from the top of the playground equipment.

Opal jumped off the slide and made her way over to her best friend. The two girls hung out together during the summer. But Opal knew nothing about magic. She came to a stop in front of Daphene and gently touched her eye.

"Father been angry again?" She asked.

Daphene nodded and pulled away. "Yeah. There was a party last night. He just had a bit too much to drink. He wants a son again."

Opal sighed. "Not that nonsense again."

"It's not nonsense!" Daphene spat at her friend. Her head hurt and her temper was much shorter than it usually was. "He needs an heir. But all he got was me and Mother can't have any more children."

Opal hugged her friend carefully. "I'm sorry. I still think you're amazing. Don't listen to your Father." She smiled brightly. "Do you want to come over for the rest of the day?"

Daphene hesitated. _I want to spend more time with Opal. But I spend almost everyday at her house. I feel like I'm imposing on them._

Opal ignored her friend's wishes and grabbed her arm. "Come on. We're going home."

The two girls skipped and ran across the large park. They left the area close to it and stopped outside Opal's house. It was much smaller than Daphene's and the paint was starting to peel on the outside, but it felt so much more welcoming.

"Mum, we're back!" Opal raced into the kitchen. Daphene followed, but more slowly.

""Hello Opal. Good morning Daphene." Emerald smiled at the two girls as she finished off her coffee. "It's so nice to be able to stay home today."

Emerald worked as a Emergency Doctor five days a week. The shifts were twelve hours and she didn't do much for six day of the week. But on her second day off- Wednesday- she did things and spent time with her children. And looked after Daphene.

"Good morning." Daphene replied politely. She hung back away from her friends.

Emerald's smile disappeared when she saw Daphene's face in the light. She approached the girl and looked over her face carefully. "Go and take a hot shower. You'll feel better. Opal will get you some clean clothes."

Daphene shifted on her feet. "It'll be fine. But thanks for the offer."

"No." Emerald put a hand on her shoulder and steered her up the stairs. "I let you come here. You practically live here sometimes. I'm trying to help you. Now go tidy up."

Daphene coloured and did as she was told.

The shower was nice. Even in the sweltering heat it made Daphene's muscles relax. Her legs were shaking from her run and now that she'd calmed down she could hear the blood pulsing through her head and bit still coming out and running down her face.

Opal handed her a light cotton sun dress to put on once she finished drying off. Daphene changed quickly, taking care around her face and she was outside with her friend a few minutes later.

"Want to read?" Opal asked. "I'm almost finished that book you lent me. I'll lend you another. I've still got some much you haven't read."

"Sure." Daphene smiled. _Reading's not my favourite thing to do. But it sure beats getting hit with a beer bottle._

"Daphene!" This voice that called her name was not harsh and it did not carry the tone of punishment she''d learned so well.

Opal jumped up with her friend. "Come on. Let's see what Mother wants."

Emerald had taken out a First Aid kit and set a work station up a the kitchen table. She'd pulled on gloves too.

Daphene stopped at the bottom of the staircase. "I'll be fine."

Emerald frowned at her. "I know. But I can give you some pain pills and help the cut stop bleeding."

Daphene felt the cut above her eye. It was still slowly dripping blood down her face. It stunk in the heat and some of the bugs seemed to be flying close to her.

"At the very least I'll make sure bugs don't lay their eggs in it." Emerald motioned in front of her. "Come here."

Daphene moved forward to stand in front of her friend's mother. The way the woman loomed over here with a roll of gauze in her hand reminded of her Father standing over her with a beer bottle. A shiver ran down her spine and she flinched unconsciously.

Emerald carefully cleaned and bandaged the wounds. She gave Daphene a dose of Tylenol. It wasn't as good as a pain relief potion, but it was something. And blood wasn't dripping down her face any more.

"You girls can go back up now. But Daphene, if you ever need help. With anything at all. I'm here for you."

Daphene tried to smile but she couldn't managed it. Her face hurt and she was angry. Angry with her parents for not doing anything, angry with her classmates for not doing anything. Angry at her Mother for not having a son. Angry at herself for being a girl.

"I hate myself!" She cried and fled the house.

Daphene made her way to the small woodland behind the park. It wasn't big enough for anything other than a few deer to live in it, but it was comforting and it hid her from others.

Tears poured down her cheeks. It was all the stupid drugs. A dealer had shown up one day and shown her mother their 'newest product'. Then there were parties every week and the green liquid started filling the fridge instead of food.

"Father never loved me." Daphene told the trees around her. "I think Mother might have. Before she found out the drugs had hurt her. And then she took more. I guess she thought they couldn't do much worse."

The sun started to peak through the spaces between the tree leaves as it continued to rise. Daphene swung herself up into a tree and perched on a branch. _If only I hadn't forgotten Circe. I hope Father doesn't find her, because there's no way I can return home now._

Daphene sat in the tree for almost an hour. By the time the hour was up she was bored and hot. The sun was beating down on her now. The trees would've provided shade, but she was near their tips. There wasn't much to shade her with.

"Meow!" A high pitched cat's complaint startled Daphene and she almost fell out of the tree.

"Hey kitty? Kitty?" Daphene descended to the forest floor and started looking for the cat. _It would be nice to have someone to spend some time with. Even if they can't talk to me._

"Meow!" A small ball on blue fur hit Daphene dress and clung to it.

"Circe! You found me!" Daphene carefully removed the kitten from her clothing. "I'm glad Father didn't find you. But how did you find me?"

Daphene was very surprised at the kitten's next action. She breathed out and a fine blue mist came from her breath and flowed toward Daphene.

"Amazing. I guess there's more to you than the blue fur." Daphene petted the cat. "And you must be my familiar if your magic draws you to me."

Well, you are the one that feeds me.

Daphene jumped at the voice. "Who said that? Is anyone out there?" She peered into the thick trees.

Silly girl.

Daphene looked at the kitten who was winding around her ankles. "Did you say that? Can you talk?"

To those I choose. The blue eyes looked sadly up at Daphene. Feed me.

Daphene laughed. "Go figure. I've got a talking cat and all it wants is food."

Circe whipped her tail around. The force of it stung Daphene's leg. Fine. I'll get my own meal. With that the kitten stalked off into the woods.

Daphene watched the kitten walk off. _She's cute. But I will be hungry in a few hours. May as well get some food now when there's still light._ For Daphene had no idea how long she was going to stay in the wood.

Several of the plants around the clearing were edible. Daphene remembered them from Herbology class. She only took the ones that could be eaten raw. Starting a fire in the wood was not something she was ready to try.

By the time Circe returned three hours later Daphene had a decent amount of food for the nest of the day. She'd found a chestnut tree and a few of the more salad-like plants that would make a good meal.

"Did you have a good hunt?" Daphene asked the cat. "I'd offer you some of my food, but I don't think you'd like any of it."

The kitten walked through the small, neat piles of food. She turned her nose up at it. This is rabbit food. I eat meat. And other good things.

Daphene sighed. "I can't kill anything. I don't mind meat either."

Good. The kitten dragged in a mouse body from just outside the clearing. I brought you a present. Tomorrow I'll teach you how to catch them yourself.

_I'm not eating raw meat! And mouse at that! _Daphene regarded the mouse with a look of horror. "Humans don't eat food like that."

Yes they do. I heard people talking about it. And my Mother taught me. I can survive in the wild. Maybe you should return to your mother. The cat sniffed.

_Did I just get insulted by my own cat? _"I'd go back to my Mother if I could. But I guess you'll have to teach me for now." Daphene told the cat. _But I'm still not eating raw meat. _"Why don't you just eat the mouse later?"

Fine. The cat found a sunbeam and laid down, curling her tail around her nose. Don't wake me up. I'm taking a nap.

"I can see that." Daphene looked at the tiny, blue kitten in the sun. "You do look quite cute."

If kittens could glare that was what Circe was doing. Quiet. I'm sleeping. She put her head back down on her paws.

Daphene smiled at her kitten. _It's very nice to have someone to talk to. Even if it's only a blue kitten._ Then she turned back to her food piles. _I don't want any other animals to get at it. And I need to pee._

While Circe slept Daphene set up a camp in the clearing. She wished she had her other clothes, or at least something she could use to keep the food in.

Eventually the largest, most comfortable tree became her 'bedroom'. A wide branch would serve as a bed and some of the smaller twigs would would up her food. _As long as the squirrels don't get into it, it should be fine._

Slowly the sun began to sink and just as Daphene finished up with her toilet, Circe woke up. Daphene fixed her dress quickly and piled dirt and leaves on top of her make shift bathroom.

Hello. Circe stretched and basked in the remaining sun for a little bit longer. What did you do?

"I got the camp ready. I think I could spend the night here." Daphene said. But she wasn't as half as confident as she sounded.

Fine by me. I can start teaching you tonight. Circe curled up in the girl's lap. You're nice and soft. Warm too.

"I'm glad I meet your standards. Go eat." Daphene gently lifted the cat off her and shimmied up the tree to retrieve some food for her evening meal.

She hadn't really had a lunch. Daphene had just snacked on the under ripe nuts and chewed a few of the leaves as she brought the food up the tree. _I cannot wait to actually eat a meal. I'm so hungry I'd eat any squirrel that tried to take my food._

But all of her food was still there and Daphene and Circe enjoyed their meals. Nuts, leaves, roots and one dead mouse. It was all devoured fairly quickly. Daphene made sure to leave a few things to eat the next morning. She didn't want to have to forage on an empty stomach.

Did you bring any water? Circe asked as she played with a bit of mouse fur. The skeleton and the parts we didn't eat were still sitting in front of her.

"No. I didn't bring anything. I've just got my dress and you." Daphene sighed. _I'm thirsty too. Water would defiantly be nice to have._

Is there water near here? Circe demanded. I want some!

"Yes. But it's too far to get there tonight." Daphene had only managed to find the stream once. It was deep in the wood and very small. "But I do think that there might be a few small fish in it."

I like fish. Circe crawled back onto Daphene. Where are we going to sleep?

"I'm sleeping up there." Daphene pointed to the large branch. "There won't be space for you."

Fine. See if I care. The kitten climbed off and head up the tree next to Daphene's. Race you up!

Daphene followed as quickly as she could. But without claws to help her and a head start she lost the race. "You win." She called out before laying out on the branch. "I hope it doesn't rain tonight."

Me too.

Circe's voice startled Daphene again. "Would you quit doing that?"

Good night young human. The warm body curled up next to her. Sleep well.

Daphene closed her eyes. It took her quite a while to get to sleep. The noise of bugs, owls and water running kept her awake. And the tree was not as comfortable as she'd originally thought. The bark picked into her back and her head was slightly lower than the rest of her body.

Eventually she fell asleep.

_Everything around her was moving. Big, dark shapes. But she knew that they were bad. And they weren't the ones she was looking for._

_Daphene sprung nimbly to her paws and ran through the undergrowth. She could here the hear beats of mice underneath the ground and water running in the distance. But the scent and sound she was looking for was nowhere to be found!_

_She clawed at a tree in frustration. "I've got to do this!" She screamed. But no one heard her._

_Daphene started to run again. This time toward the sound of running water. Again, there was the deep, unexplainable need to have it, to look into it. To be near the water._

_She came to the edge of the stream. It was larger than she remembered. A rushing torrent of water. It scared her and she backed away. But something kept pulling her toward it. She ended up on a small cliff like ledge._

_Daphene peered over it and looked into the water. What she saw there made her scream._

Wake up!

Daphene blinked her eyes open and went to run her eyes. But when she touched her face all she found was fur. No!

Circe nodded. Now you're like me. There aren't many like you.

Daphene looked at her hands. _I guess they are actually paws now. _Her fur wasn't blue or another unnatural colour. It was a nice shade of brown and a little coppery red was mixed in it. She could see her own face, but the rest of her new body was amazing.

I love this! Daphene used her new claws to get down the tree in record time.

It is nice. We are the best creature of all time. Circe said as she followed along behind.

Can I change back? Daphene asked after she gotten to the ground and chased her tail for a few minutes.

Don't know. Probably. Circe rubbed up against her friend. And you need a name.

A name? I already have one. Daphene. Daphene was confused. She stretched. It felt so nice as a cat. She could do so many new things that she couldn't do as a human.

Animal people need animals names. So that you can be a new person.

Cool. Daphene tried sharpening her claws on a tree. _This feels amazing! I'll never get mad at Circe for wrecking the wood or anything again._

Metals make good names. Better than famous sorceresses. Circe told her. But you could be Nimue or Morganna.

Those were Dark witches! Nimue killed Merlin! Daphene was horrified. There's no way I want her name.

She was also a power sorceress and an animal person. She could become a mountain lion. Mother told me about all the amazing animal people. I think you do deserve her name. Circe cocked an ear to the left. Can you hear the water?

Can we go there? Daphene sprung onto her paws.

Follow me Nimue. And be quiet. Circe's last words came out as a hiss. She stalked quietly through the under brush. Daphene followed.

The two kittens proceeded to walk. A few times Daphene heard the scuffle noises made by a mouse or the soft breath sound of a squirrel. But Circe made her keep walking. There was no stopping for breakfast.

The stream before them was nothing like the one from Daphene's dream. The sun hitting it made it look warm and clear. A few small minnows were darting through the water close to the bank.

Come and drink. Quietly! Circe dipped a paw in the water and used her tongue to lap up some of the liquid.

Daphene followed her example. Her tongue now had little spike-like things on it. They held in the water. It made drinking a very interesting experiences.

Now it is time for your first lesson. Circe pushed Daphene onto the bank. Nimue! Pay close attention, you'll do it next. With that she waded into the water and used her front paws and teeth of capture a small minnow.

That looks hard. Daphene commented when the other cat reached the shore.

You'll do fine. Now eat.

The two cats fell on the dead fish and ate it quickly. They left the bones and by the time they were finished both were splattered liberally with water, blood and other bodily juices from the dead body.

Circe pointed to the minnow school. They've returned. Give it a try.

Daphene waded in slowly. She gazed carefully at the minnow school. There was a larger one that looked like it would fit perfectly into her mouth. With a pounce she landed on it. Only to have it slip away.

She pounced again and again. Several times she almost caught the fish. On the next leap she felt herself turn back into a human mid pounce. She tried to twist and land on her feet. But the human body couldn't do that and Daphene landed face down in the shallow water.

"Rats! I almost had it." The fish were stupid enough to not move after her first attempt. Daphene rolled over and looked to the river bank. But Circe wasn't the only one watching her. Professor Snape stood behind the kitten, glaring down at her.

"Miss Greengrass, explain what you were doing in the water as a cat." He demanded.

Daphene gulped. She was defiantly in for it. "Um. I. Ah. Well I was learning." She pointed to her cat. "Circe was teaching me how to fish."

"It is illegal to become and animagus without Ministry permission. And you're not in the registry. How long have you been able to become a cat?"

"I woke up as Nimue this morning. I've never been a cat before." Daphene told him. _Please see that I'm telling the truth. _"I'll register when I get home."

Snape frowned. "See that you do. And while we're on the topic of your home. Where were you?" His glare increased in strength. "Your parents called me. They were worried about you."

Daphene laughed. "No. They wouldn't worry. There was going to be another party any ways. Mother would have been too busy."

"A muggle family was also quite worried about your whereabouts."

Daphene climbed out of the stream. _I can't believe I stormed out on Opal and Emerald. They were just trying to help me. And I hurt them in return. _"I'm sorry sir." She whispered.

Snape's expression didn't change. "What happened to your face?"

_All the bandages fell off._ Daphene felt her face. Her eye was bruised, and the cut was just starting to scab over. "A beer bottle sir."

Snape scowled. "Come. We'd better get out of here before something ends up in that."

Daphene picked up her cat and followed the Professor back to the clearing and into the park. He cast a few spells to hide them and clean the area then had her sit down on one of the park benches before taking a potions kit from his pocket and enlarging it.

The yarrow antiseptic stung, but Daphene didn't mind it. It hurt a lot less than most of the pain she'd felt. Snape healed the cut with a tap of his wand and put away the antiseptic before taking out a small, round jar. "This is bruise balm. Do you still have the jar I gave you?"

"Yes sir. But it's almost empty." Daphene had brought a few healing potions and creams home with her. They'd made the first month of vacation almost enjoyable.

Snape gently rubbed the green balm over the dark circle around her eye. Already the dark colour was fading and taking on a healthier look. He handed her the jar. "Take this too. But your animagus form should help."

Daphene smiled. "I love being Nimue."

"Nimue? Is that your animagus name?" Snape asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes sir. Circe named me." Daphene said. She showed the Professor the blue kitten in her lap.

"Very well. We must be returning to your home."

Both teacher and student walked slowly across the park and into the streets of houses. They stopped outside Daphene's front door.

"I have a picture of your animagus form and you changing forms." Snape told her. "As long as you keep the transformations to a minimum the Ministry will not notice and you can wait until September to register."

"Yes sir." Daphene did not want her parents to know she could become a cat until it wasn't possible to keep it from them. Changing could keep her safe.

"You will have private lessons with Professor McGonagall at Hogwarts. She can teach you a great deal about cats and animagi."

Daphene smiled at the thought of her stern transfiguration teacher chasing her tail in the sunlight. It was great fun. And with all the windows in the Transfiguration classroom, McGonagall must sleep in the sun at least once and awhile.

"However, you must be careful to not stay in the form for too long or too often. Animagus forms can be addicting and you wouldn't be able to change back." Snape studied her face. "Do you understand? It's very important."

"Yes sir. I'll be careful." Daphene promised. She'd seen addiction and it was not a pretty sight. There was no way she'd let herself get addicted to anything.

"Try to keep your mind off it. Only change when you need to." Snape reminded her before knocking on the door.

"What am I suppose to do? Transforming is fun!" Daphene muttered to herself.

Snape glared at her. Obviously her comment hadn't been as quiet as she thought it was. "I thought you understood the dangers of transforming."

"I do sir." Daphene protested.

"Then act like it Miss Greengrass!" Snape snapped at her. "Do something. Write to a friend. Miss Bulstrode for example. I'm going to check on her tomorrow. I will take the letter for you.

Daphene didn't dare protest. "Yes sir. I'll have the letter ready for tomorrow morning."

"Very well. Tomorrow." With that Snape stepped into the backyard and apparated back to Hogwarts.

"Wow." Daphene looked down at Circe. "What do you think of him?"

He needs a good washing. Perhaps all humans should return to their mothers. Circe noted as she cleaned her face with a paw.

"Okay." Daphene opened the door and headed up to her room to write a letter to Millicent. She felt safer knowing that she could transform and keep herself safe for the few weeks left of the summer break.

**Next Chapter: Millicent Bulstrode**


	6. Millicent

**Disclaimer: **JKR owns everything and everyone. I own nothing.

Cloud over Summer- Millicent Bulstrode

Millicent Bulstrode rolled onto her side and immediately regretted moving. Her body still hurt immensely from the wrestling match of the day before. She wasn't used to working that long or hard. And she defiantly wasn't used to getting trapped in painful locks or getting hit by people much older and stronger than she was.

The wrestling match was traditional. Two cousins and Millicent would have a wrestling tournament and a Quidditch tournament would be held a few days later. But this time Millicent didn't think she'd be feeling well enough for the Quidditch game. Her cousins wouldn't understand, but they would pretend to.

A knock on the door disturbed her thoughts. Claudius's sandy hair peeked around the door frame. Once he saw that Millicent was dressed he slipped the rest of the way into the room. Millicent thought he looked quite amusing. His hair was falling in his eyes and his robes were too large and kept slipping over his shoulders and hands.

"Couldn't one of the house elves resized those?" She asked, making a small gesture towards the extra large blue robes. "Surely it would only have taken a moment."

Claudius looked back at the ground and shook his head. "They're all too busy with everyone else. Tiberius is coming home for lunch. and everyone else will be here for supper. Maybe tomorrow." He shrugged. In truth he doubted that the robes would ever be fixed. There was just so many other things the house elves had to do.

"It'll be all right." Millicent wished she could get out of bed and comfort her cousin. But this time it would be too difficult for her to get out of bed and hug him, even if he needed it. "Do you know when Livius is getting here?" She asked, hoping to draw his attention on to something else.

"Tonight. He'll be here for supper." Was the monotone reply. Claudius pulled his robes back on and stepped back to the entrance of the room. "Bye." He hurried down the hall and Millicent could here his soft house shoes slap the floor.

Then she lay back and groaned. The seven sons of her uncle and aunt all came home every weekend. Only Claudius and Titus still lived at home and didn't have jobs. Despite the size of the family and the number of house elves there always seemed to be a shortage of things. Nothing like the Weasley's of course.

But there were no new robes, with plenty of hand-me-downs clothes were almost never bought. Most of her books and games were second hand. Luckily she'd gotten new school robes since all of her cousins went to Durmstrang. Millicent wanted to go to Durmstrang but her parents had sent a letter insisting that she attend Hogwarts. So most of her school things were new.

Below her, Millicent heard happy screams and shouts. _That would be Tiberius. I haven't seen him since last summer! _Tiberius was the third son, and he was a Potions Master. Well, he was actually in training to become a Potions Master. He was living at Durmstrang and apprenticing to his old Professor.

Millicent didn't like Tiberius. He was all brawn and no brains. _He would have been better off finding another job. He'll get himself killed in Potions. _Millicent's aunt had tried hard to help all of her sons find good professions. Some were more suited to their jobs then others.

"Millie!" A muscular, young man stepped in through the door. His sandy hair matched his brother's. But he was nowhere near was quiet and his robes fit well, now that he had money to play for his own tailoring.

_I hate being called Millie! _But Millicent sighed. "Hi Tiberius. How'd school go?" she forced a smile.

Tiberius flexed his arms. He was still wearing his school uniform. Since he wasn't a teacher he wore the student robes, with a few changes. "I never wanted to go back to school. But I'm glad I did. Got to hex all the little kids who used to hex me."

"I told you not to do that!" Octavius came up behind his brother. "You never listen to me any more!" He complained dramatically. He was taller than his older brother and since they'd been in the same year, he'd always tried to watch out for his academically challenged sibling.

"Let's eat!" Tiberius sniffed the air and left Millicent's room at a run. Octavius smiled and shook his head in amusement before following his brother to the dining room.

Millicent let out a sigh and looked around her room. She didn't have any books or toys and the room was simple. She was the only person in the entire house with a room to herself. Aunt Sam refused to redo her older boys rooms, even though they had houses of their own and the elder ones had wives and children. So everyone had to continue sharing bedrooms.

The walls were painted green and brown, originally the room was going to be Aurelius's but he moved out and there had never been the time or money to change the colour of the room. It could be changed with a spell, but that was temporary and Millicent didn't mind the colour. It looked good with Her dark wood bed and wardrobe. Both were rather beaten and old looking, but the mattress was soft and they held her things, that was all that mattered. Everything else was in the library or in the appropriate room.

Millicent closed her eyes and slept through lunch and the better part of the room, hoping that when she awoke she'd feel much better. Sadly, that wasn't the case.

"Hey!" She exclaimed, jumping backwards into the bed as she opened her eyes. Someone's face was very close to hers. But she recognized the sandy hair that all seven of her cousins had and glared. "What are you playing at?"

"What kind of a greeting is that, dear cousin?" Her eldest cousin, Aurelius smiled pitifully. "I just wanted to greet the beautiful maiden."

Millicent cuffed him on the head. "Idiot. Save it for your wife." She glanced around the room. "Did Jenny come?" She liked talking to the French woman who'd married her biggest cousin.

Aurelius shook his head. "She's too busy getting things ready for the baby. I told you that I'd be a father one day!" He grinned rather stupidly in his excitement.

"After Livius and Cornelius and Tiberius." Millicent reminded him. "You're not the first!"

"Tiberius's kid isn't born yet!" He protested. "Is Tiberius here yet?" He asked her.

"His child will be born first!" Millicent pointed out before answering his question "He got here for lunch. Are you going to rush off and leave me now?" She asked as he headed out the door.

Aurelius looked back and smirked. "I can't spend all my time with you." He pointed out. "There are six more kids to see." When her expression didn't change he added, "I'll send Livius up to see you."

_Whatever. Maybe Livius can give me a hand, his healer training should come in handy._ "All right. You may go." She waved her hand after him and laughed at his courtly bow before he swept out of the room.

A few seconds later light footsteps came up the steps. The quiet, quick-footed Livius entered her room. He lean, and the tallest of all the boys. His hair was long, it had grown out past his shoulders since the Christmas holidays. It was pulled back in a low ponytail and fell down the back of his red robes. The reminded Millicent of Durmstrang robes because of a fur colour and cuffs.

"Hi Liv." Millicent used her private nickname for her cousin. Livius had always found the time to do things with her. He used to sit for hours while she told him about the things she wanted to do when she got older. He'd given her permission to call him Liv when she was younger and couldn't manage to say Livius.

"Millicent." Livius wasn't smiling. His eyes ran over her body before he pulled out his wand. "Aurelius told me you were hurt. Why didn't you tell someone?"

Millicent shrugged. Actually, she tried to shrug. Half way through the gesture a shooting pain started in her shoulder and ran through her arm. She gasped. "I took a pain potion. I found it in the bathroom cabinet."

Livius scowled. "Millicent! I told you not to do that." He scolded before pointing his wand at her shoulder. "I'm going to use a few diagnostic spells. I can do them quite well now." He smiled before casting spells that sent warm tingles through her body. He waved his wand over her hurt shoulder. "What kind of pain potion did you take?"

"No idea." Millicent twisted her head, but she couldn't get a good look at her shoulder. "Why?"

After sighing, Livius answered. "It's much to powerful. You should be in agony. I'm almost certain that you've dislocated your shoulder." He put his hand down and touched her gently. "I need to see it, if I'm going to heal it."

Millicent looked back up at the ceiling. She'd seen dislocated arms and legs and it most defiantly wasn't something she wanted to see again. "Go head. Just try to fix." She told him.

Livius used a spell of vanish her pyjama top and pulled the bed covers higher on her body so that they rested under her armpits and across her collarbone before he touched her shoulder.

Another sharp jolt of pain rushed through her. "OW!" Millicent tightened her muscles to prevent the automatic reaction of jerking away from her cousin. "Hurry please."

"Just a moment." Livius used a spell to protect his hands before touching her shoulder again. "One sec. . ."

"Step away from Miss Bulstrode." A voice from the doorway startled the two Bulstrodes. Millicent's head snapped to the voice and Livius jumped and fell backwards.

Professor Snape stood in the doorway. His wand was out and pointed directly at Livius. "Just what were you doing?" He hissed as he stepped into the room and put up silencing wards so that the rest of the family couldn't hear what was going on.

Livius's eyes were wide. He gestured wildly around. "I-I-I wasn't d-d-doing anything!" He stuttered nervously before jumping off the floor.

Millicent was puzzled. _What does Snape think is going on? _Then she realized that she was shirtless in a room with her older male cousin. _And Snape can't see that I've still got my pyjama bottoms on. He must think. . ._

But Snape approached her carefully and didn't speak to Livius again except to put him in a body bind. He knelt down next to Millicent. "Are you all right, Miss Bulstrode?" He asked, his voice was low and soothing.

Millicent blushed and nodded. "Nothing was happening Professor." She told him. "I got hurt and Livius is training to be a healer. He was just looking at my shoulder."

Snape shot Livius a glare. "Your shoulder is injured?" He didn't wait for her answer, but cast a diagnostic spell on the area. "It's dislocated. Why aren't you in pain?" He looked at her sharply.

"I took a potion." At his look of disbelief she elaborated. "It was a pain potion without a label. I just wanted it to stop hurting. I think it was too strong." She muttered at the end.

"I should think so." Snape waved his wand and a potion appeared in his hand. "This would be more appropriate. I can also fix your shoulder." He gave her the vial.

After downing the potion, Millicent looked back at her Professor. "Could you? Fix my shoulder sir?" It would be very nice to be rid of the pain that was slowly starting to come back.

"A moment. It will hurt." Snape warned her before casting a spell that almost made her scream in pain. And then an instant later all the pain disappeared. "How's that?"

Millicent moved her arm. Slowly first, then quickly. "Amazing! Thank you sir!" She sat up, forgeting that she was shirtless. But Snape didn't bat an eyelid, he simply spelled her shirt back on.

"Now, I believe your family is having summer." He got up from his spot next to her bed. "Have a good summer Miss Bulstrode." He said before heading back to the floo. His summer visits were finally finished.

_This chapter is shorter than all the others. Sorry. There isn't much more to say about Millicent and nothing as important happens in her summer as the other students. I hope that everyone has enjoyed it. Almost done, three students left!_

**Next: Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.**


	7. Vince and Greg

**Disclaimer: **JKR owns everything. I own nothing and I make no money from writing fan fiction.

Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle's Summers

Gregory Goyle got out of bed quietly and crept down the stairs. He liked getting up early, making a cup of tea and watching the sun rise. He was more comfortable in the morning and the quiet was nice to have, not to mention the house to himself.

But this morning his father was already up and sitting at the table with an enormous mug of coffee and three breakfast muffins. There was a large book in front of him and he was mouthing the words as he read through the small print.

"Morning dad." Greg said as he started the kettle and found a loaf of bed. "Exam today?"

Julius Goyle nodded and rubbed his eyes. "I'm just so nervous. I'm so close to my degree now, I don't want to mess this up."

Greg nodded. "You'll do fine. You were there a while ago and you waited the extra term to make sure you'd pass. We're all rooting for you." He reminded his father before spreading butter on the toast. The best thing about magical cooking was that it was so much faster than muggle ways.

"Are you going to see the sun?" His dad asked, closing his book and getting up. At Greg's nod he smiled. "You're mother used to do the same thing. Until she got her hours changed." He sighed and gave Greg a quick hug. "Have fun today. Go swimming, or for a hike. And be nice to your sister!" He warned before pulling on his cloak and slipping out into the dewy grass.

The kettle began to sing and Greg quickly filled his cup and added tea leaves. He grabbed his plate of toast and left the kitchen to sit outside. In the back herb garden there was a bench and the fragrant herbs added to the atmosphere and let him relax.

Light appeared over the tree tops and continued to grow brighter and larger until the sun hung in the sky above the tree tops. Greg cleaned the last of the butter from his fingers and headed back into the house.

Crabbe Tree, the name of the Goyle and Crabbe residence, was nothing like most pureblood houses. It only had two floors and had more people in it than bedrooms. Greg's mother and his aunt were twin sisters and still lived together now. Greg's cousin, Vince was more like a brother than a cousin. They were only a month apart and had shared a room for their entire lives.

By the time Greg was back in the kitchen his aunt was up and working quickly to make breakfast. "Morning Aunt Cada." He said smiling at her. At first he sometimes confused her for his mother, but his mum was still working.

"I'm busy Greg. Just got a call." She swallowed a glass of orange juice and grabbed his bag as she ran out the door with her unfastened robes flapping as she ran.

Greg just shrugged and washed his breakfast dishes before starting to cook breakfast for the rest of his family. Since all the adults worked the children had a lot of chores to do. Greg was the only one who could make half edible food so he ended up making breakfast, lunch, and assisting with dinner.

Once the smell of frying bacon and potatoes filled the entire house Greg heard sounds of movement upstairs and the noise of water running in the wash room. Footsteps drummed down the stairs and Vince collapsed into a seat at the well worn table in the kitchen.

"Morning Greg." He yawned. "How do you stand to get up so early?" He leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes.

Greg rolled his eyes and focused on flipping the bacon so it didn't burn. "Set the table Vince. This is almost ready."

Vince got up and pulled up his too large pyjama bottoms, he liked the style of clothing that hung off him, it made him feel smaller and less bulky, before getting the plates out of the cupboard. Only four of them would be eating together that morning. Everyone else was already out at work, or school in Greg's father's case.

Once the table was set and the food was on platters in the centre of the table, Greg wiped his hands clean and headed back up the stairs to get dressed. "Wait!" He yelled over his shoulder when he saw Vince reaching for the fried potatoes.

Five minutes later Levina, Vince and Greg were seated around the table stuffing their faces. Greg had changed into muggle summer clothes that his mother had gotten in the nearby village and his sister, Levina, had on a muggle sun dress. Vince hadn't changed out of his pyjamas yet..

Almost all the food was gone by the time Carmeila walked in through the door. She was still in her Ministry uniform and was exhausted after her night shift.

Greg pointed to her plate that he'd already filled. Food didn't last long in Crabbe Tree and some was always put aside if they knew someone was going to be late. Carmeila took her seat and quietly ate the food between yawns and sneezes.

The food was finished quickly, Greg cleared the table and washed the dishes. Those were his chores only for the morning. _At least I don't have to do anything else until lunch. _He headed back up to his room to make his bed and open the windows to stop it from getting to hot.

"Are you coming with me?" Vince asked when he came up to get dressed. Levina had to weed and water the garden, and it was Vince's job to go to town and pick up groceries and whatever else is on the list. Greg put ink on the list yesterday. After all, they'll be going back to school soon and he needed to start getting his school things.

"Maybe." He told his cousin. Greg pulled the dirty sheets off of his bed and took the ones from Vince's too. "Who has to do the laundry this week?" He asked. Laundry is a horrible job. Scrubbing the sheets and clothes against the washboard, wringing them out and then hanging them up is hard work. And by the end of the day your hands are red and cracked from the harsh soap. The adults could use soap, but they weren't home most of the time and the children weren't allowed to use magic without supervision.

Vince pulls on a t-shirt. "Mum said she'll do it. But that was yesterday."

"And she's not home." Greg pointed out. His Aunt Cada is a midwife and is always having to leave in the middle of the night to go to births. She has an office downstairs to, but that's only for appointments. And she's told them that babies don't follow schedules. They showed up whenever they want.

"I don't want to do it and no one can force us to do anything now." Vince pointed out. "I'm going to go into town. I want to get ice cream and if it gets too hot then it will melt." He pointed out seriously before heading down the stairs with an armful of sheets.

Greg grabbed the money he saved from his allowance. It isn't very much, but it should be enough to get something in the town. "I guess I'll come." He stuffed the wallet into his pocket and followed his cousin down to the first floor of the house.

"Bye!" Levina called to the boys as they set off down the road. Vince had a large basket on his arm and a small pouch of money fastened at his waist to purchase the supplies the family would need. "Have fun!" She sprayed them playfully with the hose when they passed by.

The cousins walked quietly into town. Things were starting to heat up and they were certain that it would be hot by the time they reached the small town.

"Where was Uncle Julius this morning?" Vince asked his cousin. He hadn't realized until now that there had been one less occupant at the breakfast table. He had such a hard time keeping track of everyone and their schedules.

Greg smiled, although it looked more like a grimace on his face. "His exam is today. He'll be a Magical Creatures Vet if he passes." The idea pleased Greg, he liked animals and having them around would be wonderful. Animals didn't care how smart you were. If he remembered to feed them, they were happy.

As the two reached the first houses of the town they grew quiet. Once when they were younger and their parents had brought them to town, they'd spoken loudly about magic and wizards. The consequences had been harsh and immediate. The Crabbe and Goyle families weren't the brightest, but they knew how to survive near muggles.

There were only three stores in the entire town and about 150 residents. The boys needed to visit all three stores, but they went to the largest and most important of the three first.

"How much money is there?" Greg asked. He wasn't anywhere as good with numbers as Vince was, but with two of them keeping track the money would last longer and they'd be able to purchase everything on the list. It was always a bad thing when the money didn't cover all the essentials.

Vince opened the purse and quickly ran his fingers through it. "Thirty dollars. But we need to get more sugar and save some for Levina. She's starting school this year."

Greg nodded. He was rather excited to have his baby sister in school with him. After all, they'd grown up together and being separated from her, even for a single year seemed like a lot. She'd certainly changed in size, manner and thoughts. It was almost as if she had turned into a different person.

The bell over the door tinkled as Vince pushed the door to the food and general supplies store open. He'd only ever shopped at the three stores in town and a few of the required places in Diagon Alley. But for almost everything they could the adults made it themselves and recycled what they already had.

"Morning Crabbe, Goyle." The older woman at the front of the store greeted them. She'd been there for longer than Vince could remember and she always looked the same and said the same things. "What do you boys need?"

Vince pulled the list out f his pocket. "A few groceries and good Ma'am. And a bag of flour." He told her since the flour bags were stored in the back and she had to retrieve them for him.

"Be right back." She told them before slipping into the back of the store to get one of the large bags.

Greg was already moving around the store, loading things from the list to the basket on Vince's arm. The store smelled strange and he was always happy to leave it and get away from the old woman. He gathered a few groceries. Mostly meats and things they couldn't grow or make at home.

Vince showed his brother a bottle of muggle ink, "this all right?" He asked, pointing to the label which declared that it wad squid ink.

After giving the bottle a quick shale Greg declared it fine and followed his cousin up to register to purchase their gathered items.

The old woman looked over the things and handed Greg the bag of flour. "Twenty-four." She said, holding out a wrinkled hand.

Vince dug into the purse and came up with a tenner, a fiver and the rest in coins. "Thank you Ma'am." He said with a smile as she waved him out of the store.

"That was more expensive than I was expecting." Greg admitted once they were finished. "Can we afford to get everything else?" He asked worriedly. There obviously wasn't going to be money left over for Levina's school supplies and she needed a wand this year.

After another glance at the list and into the purse Vince nodded. "We'll be fine." He opened the door to the tiny apothecary that catered to both wizards and muggles.

"Maurice." Vince nodded to the young Potion Master stiring a cauldron of something at his worktable. The store was a special one and Maurice was muggle born and sold most of his potions and salves to muggles since the closest doctor was almost two day travel by car. And it took quite a few hours by broom.

The Potion Master accepted the list and read it quickly before assembling the few potions and ingredients on the list. Aunt Cada could brew most of her own potions, but a few of the more difficult and exotic ones she left to the master.

"Thanks." Vince put the vials into the basket. "How much?"

Maurice help up three fingers. He'd been rendered mute from a curse that a group of Death Eaters had cast when his mentor's home had been attacked. Only Aunt Cada's quick work with spells and potions had save his wife and he had never forgotten that. Asking for less money was his way of repaying the family.

Greg glanced worriedly at the few remaining coins as Vince paid and smiled at the Potions Master before leaving and followed his cousin to the last spot on their route.

The Smith family were new to the area and ran a strange shop. It was filled with little bits of everything, food, broken watches, rusty pots and pans. You could find almost anything in there if you stayed long and looked hard enough.

Vince opened the door and sauntered slowly across the floor. Greg watched perform his showy walk, almost laughing at the hilarious site his cousin made with his hips swinging and swaying from side to side.

"Hey Vince."

"Juliana." Vince stopped in front of the register and looked at the pretty muggle girl who was on duty. "Your father out again?" He asked, trying to make conversation.

She nodded, long blue hair bouncing around her face. "He's gone out looking for some more of this dye plant. It worked on my hair." She pulled a curl away from her head to show him. "It's called woad, or something like that."

Greg looked at the two. It strange to see his cousin flirting with a girl, and a muggle at that. _What would Uncle Dwight and Aunt Cada say? He's their only child!_

But Vince seemed oblivious to his cousin's discomfort. But that wasn't exactly surprising. He tended to be oblivious to a lot of things. The Crabbe family had a strange history, his grandparents were siblings and so were his great-grandparents and it went on like that for quite a few generations. Brother marrying sister or mother. Sister marrying father or brother. His father had married outside the family, but the generations of inbreeding hadn't exactly help his intellect level.

Greg headed over to the bins of clothing. Juliana made the clothes, along with the help of her mother and sister. And they were well made. Everything was reused and in the dresses Greg could see parts of potato sacks and wire netting to puff the sleeves, but it looked fine.

All that was left on the list was a bottle of black dye, a long dress for Levina and some flannel fabric for making winter long underwear. It was all easy enough to find and Greg had fun choosing which dress to get for his sister. It was her own fault for taking so long in the garden that she wasn't able to come to town with them. Of course no one would actually see it, since his mum would cut it apart and use it to make robes for Levina to wear at Hogwarts.

"Vince, it's time to go." Greg dropped his selections down on the register. "I'd like to purchase these."

Juliana managed to pull herself away from Vince long enough to charge them the rest of their money. Greg folded the things and put them into the basket. "Thanks, we'll be going now." Greg took his cousin's shoulder and piratically dragged him from the shop.

"What did you do that for?" Vince asked angrily as soon as they were out of hearing distance from the shop. "I was enjoying myself. Now we've got to go home and do chores!" He whined, not realising that getting supplies had been his largest chore of the day.

Greg nodded. "I've got to fix lunch and everyone else will be getting home for lunch." He glanced to the sky. "And do you really walk to wait for it to get hotter?" Rubbing sweat off his forehead emphasized his point.

Vince snorted and followed him home. They took the same path and remained silent all the way. Not complaining when Levina doused them with the hose, it was too hot to complain. And she was gathering up fresh food, the vegetables were large and tasted amazing, thanks to charms and spells cast on the garden when the seeds had been planted.

It didn't take too long for the purchases to be put away and for Greg to make lunch. He made a few fresh batches of flour biscuits and marvelled at their perfect levels of fluffiness. It was hard to get a nice biscuit with acorn flour, and most of the time that's what he had to use.

"Is it lunch already?" Carmeila stuck her head out of the bedroom, her hair messily splayed about her head. She yawned and smoothed her light blue sleeping robes. "I'm ready to go back to sleep."

Greg put the last of the biscuits on the table. Normally lunch wasn't cooked in the summer because it made it too warm in the house, but he'd really wanted biscuits and they kept well under preservation spells and frozen. They could eat his biscuits all winter long.

"Yes Mum." Greg shed his apron and called to the others. "Dinner!"

The sounds of hurried feet and rushing water filled the house. Vince was upstairs, washing his hands after dusting around, and Levina was in the shed canning fruit to be eaten later and making some of it into jam.

"It's a pity there isn't any jam yet." Greg said, piling his plate with biscuits and covering them with maple syrup and butter. It tasted heavenly.

Levina nodded in agreement. "Strawberry jam would taste amazing on these." She crammed another into her mouth, ignoring the butter that dripped off and splattered on the front of her dress. It was a work dress and she was already rather dirty from working in the garden earlier.

Carmeila rubbed her eyes and took a single biscuit for her lunch. "Thanks Greg." She ruffled her son's short hair, ignoring his movement away from her. "Love your food.

Greg smiled and added a few of the fresh blue berries to her plate. "Hard night Mum?" It was usually easy to tell how things were at the Ministry by how tired his mother was and how much work she'd done the night before.

"Yeah. The Boss has got us measuring Quidditch fields again." Carmeila used some of the food on the table to show them what she meant. "We work in teams of four. A referee, a rule expert, a secretary and a junior reporter."

"It's my job to record all the measurements and make sure they are regulation. They yell out numbers which I record. Then in London I put them into the file system and send anyone in violation a warning. There's just so much paperwork involved."

Greg nodded. He felt so sorry for her. She'd wanted to become an auror or someone important in the Ministry. But her husband had paid homage to the wrong leader and they'd ended up on the wrong side. Now the two families were trying to establish themselves away from the war. And no one would give the wife of a suspected Death Eater a decent job. It was too dangerous.

Lunch passed quickly and Greg washed the dishes and made sure that all the groceries had been put away before he could enjoy himself. Not that there was much to do at Crabbe Tree that wasn't work.

"Mum?" He looked into the laundry room. His mother was standing in the centre of the room with clouds of steam billowing around her. Her wand was out and she was using spells to charm the clothes clean and sweet smelling. Most of the clothing even got drying spells on it, saving them the time it took to hang up and fold the laundry. "I'm going swimming." He yelled over the noise of the churning wash tub.

"Only for a few hours. We've got to do some sewing tonight." Mum cried back over the noise. "Have fun!"

Greg ran up the stairs to his bedroom and barged in. He pulled open a drawer and took out his swimsuit. It was actually an old one that had belonged to his father, but it was still in good condition and there was no reason not to use it.

"Where you going?" Vince startled his cousin just before he left the room.

"Swimming. Want to come?" Greg looked at his cousin. He was in a rush to get out and start walking in order to have as much time as possible to spend swimming.

Vince gave a little growl and dropped the books he'd been reading. "Can't. I've got to do my summer homework. Dad said I can't go to Diagon Alley next week if I'm not finished." He snorted angrily. "As if he ever did his summer homework."

Greg just shook his head and changed quickly into his swim trunks. His Uncle Dwight wasn't the brightest man and he usually wasn't too strict with Vince about classes and marks. And Aunt Cada was far too busy to spend much time worrying about her son when she was the only family member who made a decent amount of money.

"See you later then." Greg tossed his clothes onto his bed and hurried down stairs. Yet again he was glad that his father cared so much about his marks. Before he started Hogwarts and his father had time, he gave them lessons and home schooled them to make sure they were prepared for Hogwarts. And he'd been very angry with Greg's poor marks.

Levina perked up when Greg left the house. "Wait! I'm coming too!" She yelled over her shoulder as she ran into the house.

It didn't take long for Levina to pull on her swimsuit and hurry back to the road, stuffing her feet into her work boots as she ran. "Wait! Oh, you waited." She smirked at her brother as he put on a fake pout and started off down the road.

The pond was the best place for the residents of Crabbe tree to spend time in. It was larger and the water was warm enough to swim in until mid-October. And the tree overhanging it had a tire swing and made great fun for contests and games.

Technically the pond and tree belonged to whoever owned the small, unoccupied cottage that was about 200 metres away. But it was always empty and the Crabbe and Goyle families had been swimming there was years and no one had ever complained.

But today was different. Greg finished walking down the short path that came out right next to the pond. He flung his towel over a bush and turned toward the pond. But there was already someone sitting on the branch over the pool, trying to build up the courage to jump in.

Whoever it was, wasn't someone he knew from town. And in such a small community everyone knows everyone. Greg didn't have the slightest idea of who the sandy haired boy could be related to, or why he was swimming in their pond.

"Hi!" The boy waved to them, his skinny arm waving frantically. His entire body shook with the enthusiasm of his greeting. He leaned forward and promptly fell off the branch he'd been sitting on. There was a tremendous splash when he hit the water.

Greg walked forward slowly and waited for the boy to haul himself out of the pond. "Hey. You new?"

Levina dropped her towel and poped up beside him. "I've never seen you before." She looked over him curiously. Her sharp eyes noted his thinness and the way his rips stuck out. Not to mention that his swim trunks were rather old and in need to replacement.

"I just moved here last night. My mother was unpacking." The boy smiled and shook Greg's hand rather excitedly. "I'm Anthony Wolf."

Greg couldn't remember having ever heard the name Wolf in his History lessons with his father and at Hogwarts. _Must be a muggle. _"Nice to meet you Anthony." He forced a smile.

"Where did you move? Oh and by the way, I'm Levina Goyle and this is my brother Gregory." Levina said rather quickly. She knew that her brother would disapprove of giving out so much information to a near stranger. But she was good at reading people and this kid would just talk and talk if she could find the right topic to start him on.

Anthony hopped back in the water. "In the house that's really close to here. Mother said that the pond was part of our land." He smiled happily and broadly at them. "You can come swimming to, if you want."

The Goyles needed no further urging to get wet. The temperature had continued to rise and they were sweating, even just standing in the shade. Greg cannonballed to the middle of the pond and stuck his tongue out at his sister when she entered with a war cry from the branch above.

"It's nice to know that there will be some other kids near here." Anthony said, almost as if he were rushing to get the words out. "I was so worried about not knowing anyone on the first day of school. I don't even know where the school is! And I can't wait to get settled it."

Greg and Levina exchanged looks. They'd never been to the village school and they never would go there. Both of them had magic and had been home schooled before they went to Hogwarts. Levina had already gotten her letter and everything.

"Actually, we go to a school for gifted children in Scotland." Levina told him. Her Aunt Cada and her mother had always told her to use that excuse if anyone asked her were she went to school or why she didn't attend the village school. "We've never attended the school here."

Anthony's face fell for a moment, but brightened immensely after a moment. "I think I might be going to a gifted school soon too. My Mum wasn't sure if she wanted to accept the invitation. But I really want to go."

Levina looked at Greg and gave her head a small shake. But it was always nice to be social with the neighbours. Especially if they owned the pond. "Why don't you come over for dinner tonight?" She asked. "Greg and I could contact our father, have him stop by after work and take you home. What do you say?"

Anthony smiled again. "I'd love to! And Mum hates cooking, especially with all of our things still in boxes."

Greg nodded. "Great. Now I'm going swimming." With those words said he hauled himself out of the pond using only his arms and scaled the tree.

It only took a few minutes for the three to set up a game of slippery stick and soon they were all falling and laughing in the cool water. The time pasted quickly as they played breath holding, diving, swinging and many other types of games. Far too quickly their free time was over and Greg sadly climbed out of the pond and began to dry off.

"Time to go." He told his sister, fastening his work boots and slinging his towel around his shoulders. "There's still plenty of work to be done. And I need to. . .contact father." Greg gave her a glare until she climbed onto the bank.

Levina dried off and pulled on her own boots. "Bye Anthony. See you tonight." She gave him a wave before gathering her dress in her arms and heading off down the path. It was hot enough that both Greg and Levina had decided against pulling on their shirts or dresses. They weren't planing on meeting anyone or doing anything they couldn't be in swimsuits for.

"Levy!" Someone grabbed Greg's sister and twirled her around in the air. Greg spun back to face the would be kidnapper.

"Dad, what are you doing?" He asked. Levina was high in the air and there was an enormous smile plastered across his father's face. "Did you pass?"

Julius Goyle dug his certification out right there on the road. "Certified Magical Creatures Veterinarian, that's me." He gave Levina another spin before setting her down. "I can't wait to show your mother." He told them, giving Greg a quick hug. "Anything exciting happen today?"

"Levina invited a muggle family to dinner. You're suppose to go and get them before we eat. They live near the pond." Greg said quickly, making sure to lay all the blame on his sister. He did love and care about her, but part of being a younger sibling was being blamed for everything.

Julius just laughed and raced his children the rest of the way home. "Things will go fine. I'll smooth everything over." He promised before entering the house and sweeping his wife off her feet. Carmeila was there too, her patient had finished giving birth.

"Sewing already?" Greg asked, pointing to the shape of a black robe on the table. "I thought everything needed to be dyed first." Sewing and dying wasn't his strong point, although he could sew a simple, straight line and there were plenty of those in robes.

Aunt Carmeila nodded. "These are dyed. The first batch of cloth was ready to be sewn and Vincent needed new robes. And he was here." She looked sternly at her niece and nephew. "You better have had fun, avoiding all this work."

The two Goyle children laughed and hugged their Aunt before pounding up the stairs to change.

Greg was glad they'd moved in with his Aunt Carmeila and Uncle Dwight in Crabbe Tree. After all, his mother and aunt were twin sisters and had decided that they couldn't bear to live apart from each other. They'd been luck enough to find men who got along too.

At first the Goyles had lived in town, in one of the smaller houses. But with the end of the Voldemort war and the mass firing of Ministry employees they hadn't been able to afford to keep their house. So they'd moved in with the Crabbe family. Carmeila wanted to build a second floor for the space and quiet from her screaming baby, and they'd given her an excuse to expand.

Of course, with two families and only two adults working full time, the family wasn't in the best of circumstances. But they managed to afford wands for their children and food to put on the table. Everyone had to help out and there wasn't much to go around, but things worked out. Even the robes that the Watson sisters made for their children looked just as good as the store bought ones and few people guessed that they were in the same economic class as the Weasleys.

Greg cooked most of supper, working around the sewing mess spread all over the table. By the time he finished frying the beef, the robes were almost finished and his father had left to bring Anthony and his mother to dinner.

The table was set neatly with a pretty table cloth, courtesy of Levina's sewing practice. She was bad at hemming and Mum was always trying to get her better, even if it was by making new handkerchiefs for everyone in the family.

Greg mixed the flour for the biscuits. The ones only made with white flour looked and tasted better, but they would cost the family an arm and a leg to eat everyday. And the acorn flour was nutritious and home made. It was also rather bitter and coarse. But the biscuits were still all right. Greg was just putting the plate onto the table when the screen door was pushed open. Everyone had already been briefed on the situation and knew not to bring in any non muggle friendly topics.

Everyone took their place at the table. Dwight came out of his bedroom even and sat next to his wife. Greg and Levina washed their hands to clean off anything that was left from preparing food. He took off his apron and took a seat next to Anthony.

The Wolf family was looking around the house with great interest. The two families had tried to muggleise it, but they'd failed, miserably. Not to mention that Carmeila and Dwight were in robes. And they couldn't just explain them away as dresses.

Aunt Cada bowed her head over her empty plate after everyone had joined hands. "May the Goddess bless our meal and she and Green Man always be certain to fill our table."

The rest of the Crabbes and Goyles let go of each others hands. "So mote it be." They said solemnly before beginning to serve and pass around the food.

"It's nice to meet you Mrs Wolf." Greg watched his aunt introduce herself to the new woman. "I'm Cada Crabbe."

Mrs Wolf gave a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "It's actually only Ms. Wolf. I'm not married." She clarified, not expanding on her point and leaving the families to wonder if she'd ever been married or if her son had simply grown up fatherless. Neither of those options were generally accepted in the wizarding world.

Dinner was its usual loud and boisterous self. The three families talked happily, trying to stay on topics that Ms Wolf would know about and not mention anything that would incriminate themselves. After all, in such a small community being identified as witches could be deadly.

Finally the meal ended and the adults stood up, leaving the children to clear the table and wash the dishes. Even Anthony helped without complaining. Then they joined the adults in the small sitting room.

Ms Wolf was smiling around the room, trying to find something else to talk about. "So Carmeila, where do you work?" She asked.

"At the Ministry." Carmeila said without thinking. "For Quidditch." Then her expression changed and she bolted up. "Did I just say that?"

Cada nodded. "Yes, you did." She smirked at her sister. "Pay attention."

But Ms. Wolf didn't seem fazed. "The Ministry of Magic?" She asked cautiously, as if making sure that was the Ministry they were talking about.

The entire room fell silent with everyone staring at her.

"How do you know about The Ministry? And magic?" Julius asked. "What's your real name?"

"Tracey Wolf." She looked around the room. "Anthony is a wizard. He's going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this September."

The four adult wizards and witches exchanged looks. "Is his father a wizard?" Cada finally asked. "It could be important."

Tracey bit her lip and looked at the floor. She slowly nodded her head. "There was an incident several years ago. Someone in a cult of some kind, a Death Cooker I think, found me after my boyfriend had dumped me and decided that I looked nice enough."

Cada moved to sit next to her. She'd helped a few women who were pregnant with babies of Death Eaters. It was never easy for them, and even harder for those around them to understand.

"When Anthony was about five I found another boyfriend." Tracey continued. "But things weren't working out and I moved out here to have some space for myself. I've got a job in town, I'm taking over a restaurant."

Julius cocked his head and studied her. "There is no restaurant in town. I've heard complaints about the lack of one. But there isn't a restaurant here."

"That's what you think." Tracey smiled, she was comfortable with the topic and knew something that the magical people around her didn't. "There's a really old one. The owner just passed away and his son wants to higher someone else to run the business and make it bigger, do some advertising. Bring in some money. Apparently it hasn't been open for the past ten years."

The four nodded. They didn't really understand why anyone would want to run a restaurant and do all sorts of advertising, but each to his own.

The hours passed by quickly for the rest of the night. Tracey had plenty of questions about the magical world and the Crabbes and Goyles were curious about muggles, for the most part. Uncle Dwight seemed to have problems controling himself at times, but he kept himself under control.

When the clock chimed ten o'clock the evening was over. Carmeila had to leave for work and Tracey was taking Anthony to Diagon Alley the next day. She made plans to meet Cada and Levina in front of the Leaky Cauldron.

"Thanks for coming." Carmeila showed their guests out, with everyone filling the area behind her. "It was a pleasure meeting you, we'll have to do this again sometime. Maybe when the children are in school?"

Tracey smiled. "Next time you'll come over as soon as I've got all my things unloaded and some food. I need to get some groceries tomorrow."

As soon as the guests were gone, Carmeila left in a hurry, running to the apparation boarder.

"Bedtime." Aunt Cada announced cheerfully. "Lots to do tomorrow. We still need to finish sewing and dying the robes and there's plenty of things to get in Diagon Alley."

Dwight groaned. "Did you see the book list? It's all Gilderoy Lockhart books. Boring ponce, can't stand him." He grumbled as he poured himself a drink to unwind after his day. That was the signal for the children to go to bed.

Greg tossed on his sleeping robes. His Mum wouldn't let him wear muggle clothes to bed, even if he did wear them whenever he went out to the town. She still insisted that he wear robes at home. _I don't really mind robes, it is just so hot! I'd rather be cool and muggle. At least then I could get some sleep._ He tossed and turned, stopping when Vince called across the room.

"Greg?"

"Yeah?" He whispered back, hoping that the parents wouldn't hear. Greg really didn't feel like ending up in trouble.

"She's a muggle." Vince whispered back fiercely.

His comment and condescending tone made Greg angry. "Hermione thought she was a muggle for eleven years!"

A snort was all his cousin said in response and for the first time ever the cousins went to bed with hostility between them.

******************

_Sorry for the delay in this chapter! I got writer's block and really bored with Crabbe and Goyle. I hoped everyone liked this take on them, it was fun to write after I got over the blocks. _

_I've been writing the very last chapter in school and I'll try to post it as soon as possible. Thanks to everyone who still reads!_

**Next up: Blaise Zabini**


	8. Blaise

**Disclaimer: **JKR owns everything. I own nothing and I make no money from writing fan fiction.

Chapter Nine- Blaise Zabini

The last day of the Zabini camping trip ended in disaster. Bears got into their supply of food during the night and a cold wind was blowing all of their belongings that weren't tied to the ground away. Not to mention that it had started raining and everything was wet and cold, including the firewood.

Johanna had spent the entire week complaining. She complained at the beach, on hikes, during canoe trips and during meals and picnics. Not using magic offended her Ravenclaw logic and love of all things magical. Why would you bother to hang your food from a tree when a simple spell would keep the animals away from it? Bug repealing charms worked, unlike muggle sprays and it would have been much faster to use a portkey instead of driving.

But no, they weren't allowed to use any magic on the annual family vacation. It wasn't very special. Their mum's family, the Pureblood Slaters, barely talked to her after she married a muggle and Rogan Zabini's family were terrified of his wife. Rogan himself wasn't very concerned with being a muggle, most of the time his family didn't even draw attention to him.

The camping trip was for Rogan Zabini. For the entire year he had to deal with magic and magical children. As a child he'd always gone camping with his family and he wanted to continue that with his own children. Even if Trinity had to pull them aside before they left and remind them that they were going to be muggles for the next week.

"Get up boys!" Alanna took great pleasure in ripping open the flap to Blaise and Alexander's tent. The rain came pouring in and the cold wind startled them into being awake.

Alexander couldn't bear to let his twin sister get away with something, especially directed at him. "Al! You miserable, sadistic sister!" He yelled, springing up from the bottom of the tent. But he'd forgotten that they were camping and he was wrapped tightly in a sleeping bag in a tent with a low roof. Alexander's leap toward his sister failed miserably and he fell to a heap on top of his older brother.

"Get off." Blaise pushed the mound of blankets and limbs off of himself and squirmed out of his own sleeping bag. "Go fight each other somewhere else. Somewhere that I'm not." He grumbled, annoyed at being woken up in such a manner when he'd rather be sleeping.

Rogan Zabini stuck his head in through the tent flap. His hair was wet and his clothes looked slightly damp from the rain. "Enough lounging men. It's time to get up and get to work. We wouldn't want to miss out on the last hike." He reminded them before closing the tent flap to prevent water from getting in everywhere.

_I wouldn't mind missing the hike. _Blaise thought to himself. It seemed like every time they went camping his father discovered his lost self that had wanted to join the army and become a drill Sargent. But he would never have dared tell anyone of his thoughts. "Coming dad," he said sleepily,

The girls were already up. Their tent had been in a lower area and they'd been rudely woken by water spilling in from the ground to soak them. And their tent had been close to the hanging food that the bears had found so interesting. Only a few quick spells from Trinity had saved them from becoming soaking wet mush. But they hadn't been able to save the food. It'd been dragged off and anything left didn't even look edible let alone appetizing.

The Zabini family dressed quickly, pulling rain jackets on over top of their clothes, not that they were very helpful. The rain seemed to soak through everything. Then they assembled next to the flooded fire pit.

"This sucks. I'm all for leaving now." Johanna said, sulking underneath the tarpaulin pulled between tow trees. She was clutching all her books and trying to keep them from getting soaking wet. Mum used to joke about how she couldn't live without her books, and it was truer than any of them realized.

Rogan shook his head. "No, no. This is the last day. We can stand a little water!" He told the rest of them. "And there's some food in the van. We'll dig it out and have ourselves a decent breakfast."

Johanna just sniffed. "You can start the fire." She nodded to the flooded pit. "Good luck."

But Rogan's enthusiasm couldn't be quelled by his daughter's sarcasm and anger. He knelt next to the pit, rubbing his hands together eagerly. "Alanna, get me the instant soup from the van. Alexander; the matches."

Alexander and Alanna jumped to their assigned tasks. It was easy enough since most of their belongings were still set up or in tents. The soup was under one of the seats and Alexander found matches in the glove box.

Trinity was hungry enough that when her husband tried striking the matches and setting them next to the driest tinder he could find, she used a spell to help it along. The fire burned strong and bright and since her wand was up her sleeve, no one would suspect that she was doing something she shouldn't.

"Good. Johanna, fetch a pan." Rogan ordered his oldest daughter. He took the instant soup and used his pocket knife to open the lid.

The soup cooked quickly and everyone got a bowl of it. Blaise didn't like soup to begin with and this was more like lukewarm water with bits of vegetables and meat floating in it. _Absolutely disgusting. _But he did have the sense to not complain out loud.

"I'm not hungry." Johanna declared after consuming a spoonful of soup. "Someone else can have mine."

Trinity groaned, it seemed like her daughter was finally a teenager and it drove her crazy! "Johanna that is all there is going to be until lunch. And if you are finished you may begin packing the van and neatening up the camp site." She glared so that Johanna would know she meant it. "All right?"

"Fine." Johanna set her bowl down and stalked toward the girls tent. She needed to get her books to safety in the van.

The remaining soup was divided up between the five and consumed quickly. The cold made them hungry and even gross soup is food.

"Let's get to work. The sooner we're ready to leave, the sooner we can get out of this cold and rain." Trinity whispered to her children as her husband washed the dishes quickly. "I'll stop at a restaurant for lunch. Nice, hot food."

With food as an incentive all the kids pitched in, filling the van in record time. Most of the seats got things stuffed under and around them. The two empty seats had things piled on and the boot was packed to bursting. There weren't any enchantments on the car.

"That's the last of it." Rogan told them, shoving pillows onto the empty seats. They were nice to have in the car.

The family surged toward the car, anxious to get out of the rain and wind. But the two adults were standing in front of it with their bags.

"There's no way we're going home like this." Trinity told them. "You'll go shower and put on clean clothes. I'm not going to smell unwashed children all the way home."

Blaise groaned, even if it did make sense he wanted to go back to sleep and go home. "Fine Mum." He took his bag and headed toward the showers. It was only a five minute walk, less if he ran. And then the camping trip would finally be over.

The showers were old and full of mildew. Blaise did like that dividers in between them, at school there was a schedule in the boys showers and first years had to use the communal showers. It was an unofficial schedule and only the prefects enforced it. Snape couldn't have cared less about how they took their showers. And hearing Draco sing to himself as he conditioned and washed his hair ten times every night grew old very quickly.

He striped off his dirty pyjamas and was soon under the cold water, washing as quickly as possible. Blasie heard another shower go on next to him and washed faster, he wanted to beat his brother. They had friendly competitions all the time. With Alanna and Johanna as sisters there was always competitions going on.

The two boys burst fully dressed out of their shower stalls at almost the exactly same time. Blaise dried his hair quickly and stuffed his toiletries and clothing into his bag before pulling his rain jacket back on. They raced out of the small building and into the pouring rain.

"Over here boys!"

Blaise turned toward the sound of his mum's voice and waited for the van to pull closer so he wouldn't get soaking wet. The door opened and he hopped up, pushing his bag ahead of himself and settling onto his favourite seat in the vehicle.

"Buckle up." Rogan told his sons, putting the van back into gear. They needed to pick up the girls and their showers usually had much longer line ups and they'd run at least five minutes behind the boys.

The van drove slowly through the camp ground. They passed plenty of people struggling to start their fires and packing up their things. Blaise kept his eyes peeled for magical creatures. There was suppose to be a unicorn herd in the pack, but few people had ever seen them.

_It would be great to fly in here. _Blaise thought, he wasn't a very good or fast flier. But the twisting paths and trees made him long for his broomstick to give it a try. Not that it would be allowed, not in a muggle camping area. _Maybe one day I'll get a really good broom and use some disillusionment charms. Now that would be fun._

"Do you see them?" Trinity asked, leaning forward to peer out of the window. A rather fruitless task since there was so much water on the glass that you could barely see through it.

Alexander looked out the window too. Even though he and Alanna were getting older and growing apart they were still closer then any of their siblings were. And until they got a larger house or finally finished the basement they had to share a room.

Two girls gradually emerged from the clouds of steam surrounding the showers. The heaters in the place made it almost look as if the building was on fire or hiding a billowing dragon inside. Johanna opened the door first and glared at her brothers.

"My seat." She pointed to the seat that Blaise was sitting on. "Move. Now!"

Blaise gulped and hurried to get into the back. He hadn't gotten along with Johanna since he'd started school and been sorted into Slytherin. Although he wasn't sure why, maybe she simply hated Slytherins or maybe she thought he was too immature for her. Blasie didn't care as long as she left him alone.

Alanna looked put out when she had to follow Blasie into the very back of the van and curl up in her blankets and pillows next to him. It had been ages since she'd had any time to spend with Alexander and she'd been looking forward to the ride home.

Rogan got the car rolling again and they set off toward the park exit. "Everyone ready for our last hike?" He asked enthusiastically. "The path is just up here. It's one of my favourites."

The other occupants of the van groaned as one. They were tired and wet, going home and sleeping in real beds sounded nice. Not going on yet another long hike that no one wanted to be on. If they wanted to hike it was fun and the time passed quickly. That was definitely the case here.

"I'd rather go home." Trinity told her husband, clasping his free hand. "I've got work tomorrow and we still have got to find the time to get to Diagon Alley." She yawned and ran a hand through her hair. "I'd rather get home and relax."

Rogan sighed. "Very well. But it will take a few hours to get home." He twisted around to look at the children. "You may as well relax."

The seatbelt charms allowed Blaise to slip out of the actual belt long enough to talk off his rain jacket and bulky jumper. He positioned his pillow in the corner where the side and back of the car met and after pulling his blankets up, shut his eyes and went back to sleep.

Blaise woke up a few hours later. They were still hours away from home and he didn't recognize the area they were passing through.

"I could use a coffee and a lavatory." Trinity remarked when they passed by a small café that was advertising fresh brewed coffee in the window. "Then I'll take a turn driving." She promised, laughing quietly when Rogan steered into the café.

The family spilled out of the van. Blaise was happy to have the opportunity to stretch his legs and arms out. When everything was packed in so tightly it got rather unpleasant in the van. And he was hungry since breakfast hadn't been particularly appetizing.

Trinity used the lavatory first, since there was only one everyone had to take turns and go quickly. They bought three of the large cups of coffee, Johanna claimed that she liked drinking it now. And there were plenty of bagels and biscuits to eat the rest of the way home.

Alexander wrinkled his nose at the smell of the coffee once everyone had gotten back into the van and all the doors were closed. It was still raining here and the density of the air seemed to make the smell thicker and heavier. "How can you drink that?" He asked, grimacing at the sight of the thick, brown liquid. "It looks like bog sludge."

Trinity took a long swallow, savouring the taste. "Its got quite a bit of caffeine in it. My unit drinks litres when we're on a stakeout or need to stay up for a long time. I've developed a taste." She handed Rogan his cup. "And it helps you stay wake on these long roads while you're driving."

After the radio was turned on and the food handed out, Blaise went back to starring out the window as he nibbled on a bagel. The butter wasn't as good as the one they had at home, but it was hot and freshly toasted which made up for just about everything.

Watching endless trees and rocks and birds pass was not Blaise's idea of interesting. Even the small towns they passed though about every half hour all looked the same and it was very boring. Blasie couldn't wait to get home and have access to all his stuff and friends. Soon he'd be going back to school and he wouldn't see them until Winter break.

"Can I lean on you?" Alanna asked timidly. She and Alexander always slumped against each other on long car rides and it seemed to calm them and help them sleep.

"Sure." Blaise relaxed against the sleeping bags in between them, changing the position of his pillow to make it more comfortable. He pulled his blankets over them and let his head fall on top of hers. Somehow hearing her heartbeat along the side of her neck did help him relax and it didn't take long for them to fall asleep.

Peaceful dreams and the quiet in the van was broken by a screeching sound. It started quiet and proceed to build up volume until it got louder and louder, waking everyone in the van and disturbing those who weren't asleep. Then the van stopped suddenly on the shoulder of the road.

Trinity fumbled to open the glove box. Her husband was fumbling with the lock, he couldn't get it open and acknowledging the machine was the only way to make it shut up. "Come on!" Trinity gave it one last good tug and pulled out a small mobile in the shape of an owl. "Slater here." She barked into it.

There was a burst of static as whoever was on the other end said something and Trinity nodded gravely. "I'll be there as soon as I can Moody. Open the office ward for me. I'm apparating in." She snapped the mobile shut and handed it back to her husband while giving him a quick kiss.

"Will you be gone long?" He asked her worriedly. "I wouldn't want to have to unpack alone after all."

Trinity smiled and waved goodbye to her children. "It's an emergency. I'll be back as soon as I can." She threw open the door and apparated as soon as there was room to turn around. She'd always found it easier to apparate while moving.

Blaise groaned when he heard the pop of his mum's apparation. _Mum's work always messes with our vacations. Either she has to leave in the middle or the entire vacation is a ruse to get her into an area she needs to be in. I wish our family was just normal._

Rogan climbed out of the passenger seat and took the driver's seat again. "We're about two hours away now. Almost home." He told his children, but his voice had lost all of its usual cheer. Trinity had been so close to death four times that he'd gone and said goodbye to her in St. Mungo's. He was always worried that her current mission would be her last.

"Wait." Johanna said before he could start the van again. She moved up to the passenger seat and took her wand out. "If there's a problem I don't want to be stuck in the back." But she said this quietly, it wouldn't do to upset her younger siblings. They didn't know how dangerous their mum's job was.

The tension and worry started in the front section of the van and gradually Blaise and the twins felt what was going on. They stopped laughing and talking. Everything was silent and time seemed to inch by, if it was even moving at all. Some of the food was left, but no one felt like eating. The feelings from the front affected everyone else, even if they were missing some of their memories.

When Blaise was ten and the twins were nine Trinity had been in a fight and taken a crushing curse to the chest. The healers hadn't been sure if she was going to recover or ever wake up again. It had badly damaged her lungs and heart. Johanna and her father still remembered going into the hospital room and saying "Goodbye" and "I love you."

But the best mind healers had been brought in on the case after it became clear that Trinity was going to recover. Rogan and Johanna had all but believed she was dead and the younger children had been told to make their last goodbyes. Such memories would be damaging to children and curb their development in crucial stages.

So they took their memories. All that was needed was a special sleeping potion and a highly trained mind healer. They could enter the mind, remove or suppress the memories and the patient would remember nothing. Their mind would create reasonable scenarios to fill in the missing time. Some of the junior aurors had it too, so that they could deal with post-traumatic stress disorders. And to help victims of the Dark Lord.

Blaise glanced around the van. He was bored and worried at the same time. He knew his mum would come home perfectly fine, even if she broke a bone, that could easily be fixed with magic. _So why all the fuss? I'm bored and the entire van smells like smoke from our clothing and tents. It's gross._

"Dad, can you turn on the radio?" Blaise asked, hoping to be able to tune in and have fun with something. "Maybe a radio show? Or some music?"

Rogan shook his head. "No. We're almost home anyway." He indicated out the front window. "There's the city limits sign."

Blaise rolled his eyes at the signpost. He really didn't care about all the organizations in the community or its population. The enchanted wizarding sign underneath it was much more interesting. It listed the population of wizards and the numbers were magically updated. And it had a month long schedule of all the organization and club meetings.

"Almost home." Alanna sighed, leaning against her brother. There would be plenty of work to do once they got in and although it wasn't raining here the air was warm and humid, as if the storm hadn't hit yet. They'd need to hurry to beat the rain.

Blaise closed his eyes and tried to sense how close to home they were. The turn onto their street and the password to activate the entrance to the wizarding section of the community. A final turn and the car slowed to a stop. The doors were opened and air rushed in.

"Let's get the clean up done with quickly. We'll set everything in the entrance for now. Bring your things up to the second floor though. You'll need them tonight," Rogan said, grabbing a few bags in one hand and pulling out the key in the other.

The four children gathered up as many bags as they could carry and headed slowly towards the house. Somehow being home made them tired and sluggish. All Blaise could think of was his clean and tightly made bed, just waiting for him to sink into. It would feel so nice, and he was very tired.

It only took ten minutes for the five working together to bring everything into the entrance way and carry everything to their general area. Trinity certainly could have done everything faster with her wand but it brought them a sense of accomplishment and kept their minds off her for a few minutes.

"Can we order Thai food?" Johanna asked. She'd never had Thai food, but Alexander had and he hated it. Even if she didn't like it, it'd be worth driving Alexander up the wall.

Alexander scowled and crossed his arms. "Pizza and pasta. And we could make some of those buns in the freezer to go with it. Mum left them for the night we got home." He pointed out, pizza was his favourite food. It was exciting to eat and Hogwarts didn't serve pizza.

Rogan glared at the two arguing children before they could say anything else. "I was going to order a pizza and make something to go with it." He turned to his eldest. "Johanna, if you don't like pizza then you could make the buns in the freezer and boil some pasta."

Blaise smirked at his father's manipulation techniques. Rogan hated cooking and loved eating good food. With this plan there would be pizza that Johanna wasn't going to eat, more for him, and pasta and buns that he didn't have to cook or heat. Everything would be prepared for him.

"I'm going to take a shower. It stinks in here." Blaise said, trying to hint that they should wash the smell of wood smoke off their skin and hair. It smelt horrid to him and he wanted to simply smell the soap and water, clean and hot water.

Alanna sniffed the air next to him delicately. "Yes. I do believe that I also smell something." She shot a look at her twin brother.

Blaise knew that look and he drew back from the two immediately. "Everything smells of wood smoke, that's all I'm trying to say. And I want to feel clean." He looked pointedly at Johanna's hair. It was too long to wash easily and the only way she could dry it was with magic. Since they weren't allowed to use magic on vacation her hair had become extremely greasy. Even the rain hadn't helped.

"If you two fight again everyone's going to regret it!" Rogan snapped. "There's time for us to all take showers before dinner." He was short tempered, the day seemed very long and he was worried about Trinity. And there wasn't anyway to contact her, owls weren't allowed to deliver to aurors on emergency missions.

Blaise rushed up stairs and took the best shower in the house. The small stall in the ground floor bathroom was filled next. The rest of the family continued to unpack and put laundry into the washer.

Rogan had insisted on outfitting the house with muggle appliances when they'd moved it. After all, Trinity would sometimes be gone for weeks on missions and he wanted to be able to clean his clothes and cook his food. It was enough that his family tried to forget he was a muggle. Johanna was allowed to use magic since the house was a registered wizard dwelling, but she wasn't there during the year.

Blaise was drying off when the smell of pizza began to creep under the door. He drew in a deep breath through his nose. It smelled heavenly, it was a pity that they couldn't eat delicious tasting food on vacation. That was something he didn't understand. Vacation was suppose to be for over indulging and enjoying yourself.

Alanna slipped into the shower as soon as Blaise came out and headed to his bedroom to get dressed. He had his own room and so did Johanna. Their parents thought that the older children needed their own space and places to put things. Besides, the twins didn't mind having to share a room. Blaise dropped his dirty clothes into the enchanted laundry basket. It delivered them straight to a box in front of the washer.

"Come and eat!" Johanna called up to her siblings. She'd used magic to make her shower faster and then a few spells had let her prepare pasta and buns in record time. They looked quite appetizing. And of course the large, steaming pizza sat in the centre, dripping with hop cheese.

The Zabinis ate quickly, they were too busy stuffing food into their mouths to talk to each other and there wasn't very much to say. And pizza doesn't taste nearly as good cold. Johanna's pasta turned out and she left the pizza for someone else. It was a decent meal and the only thing missing was Trinity.

Rogan wiped his mouth off with his napkin and set down his fork that still had bits of pasta sauce stuck to it. "I was thinking that we should get started on the basement tonight. I'd like to have it finished by Winter break."

Blaise agreed. He was going to be allowed to choose the colour and scheme of his new room an rearrange his furniture. Trinity had even promised to transfigure his furniture into something better or get someone from work to do it. And then the twins would finally get their own rooms and the empty bedrooms upstairs would become home offices for Rogan and Trinity.

"Now?" Johanna looked sceptically at her father. "I thought you had to work tomorrow."

Rogan shook his head. "Not allowed, Ministry policy. And I'm not on duty this weekend so I'll probably be taking the four of you to Diagon Alley to get your school supplies." He grimaced at the thought, wizards could be overwhelming, especially to muggles.

"Then it sounds like a good idea." Johanna told him. She didn't agree with the Ministry policy. When one spouse was on a life endangering mission the other wasn't allowed to work for fear that they might interfere due to being unable to handle the pressure. Rogan had an important job and there weren't enough people in his section to fill the needs.

Both of the Zabini parents worked with Magical Law Enforcement. Trinity was a sniper on a heavy warfare unit. They got the most dangerous missions and the most difficult task. She was the only woman on a heavy warfare team, they were very selective. Rogan worked as a relations officer between muggles and wizards. He'd met his wife in that situation. Of course he hadn't known about magic at the time. And the Ministry was always having problems with ordinary wizards breaking muggle laws and alerting the authorities. It was his job to smooth everything over with the muggles and teach the wizards to not make the same mistake.

"Do we have to start today?" Alanna asked, she was falling asleep in her chair. Working the basement was not something she wanted to do. "Couldn't we wait for tomorrow? Get some sleep first?"

"Please?" Alexander asked, bed sounded so nice right now.

Rogan shrugged. "I don't think that I'll be able to sleep. Feel free to head up if you want to."

"We want to." The twins got up and hurried to their bedroom.

Blaise looked at his father, the man looked tired. "There are potions you take." He reminded him. Trinity kept a fully stocked potions cupboard in the master bathroom. Everything that they could possibly need was in there.

Johanna glared at her brother. He was missing the hard memories that her father and she had to deal with. "Go to bed Blaise. There will be plenty of work to do in the morning." She gave her father a tight smile and headed up the stairs herself.

"Night dad." Blaise glanced at his father before heading up the stairs and changing yet again, this time into clean pyjamas. His bed felt as good as he'd expected, the blankets were clean and dry. But the best thing was space. There wasn't Alexander pushing him into the side of the tent constantly and it was quiet. No birds and bugs or bears. He fell asleep quickly.

Blaise could feel someone shaking him gently. He twisted and turned onto his side. "I'll get up soon." He muttered. "Still tired."

But the shaking continued. "Get up little brother. We're going to Diagon Alley today." Johanna pulled her brother's ear playfully. "There isn't going to be any food left if you keep wasting time."

"Just a sec." Blaise rolled out of bed. He picked clothes out of his wardrobe and ran quickly down the stairs. The smell of pancakes had woken him up and he was practically drooling at the thought of maple syrup and cinnamon with butter on his pancakes.

Rogan was flipping the last of the pancakes when his son ran in. Pancakes was one of the few dishes that he would actually make. "Hungry?" He asked, smiling as Blaise piled his plate high and drenched his food in syrup.

"Mmmmmmm!" Blaise said through his full mouth. There wasn't a better way to express his pleasure in the taste. It was absolutely amazing. Then he swallowed and could talk again. "I though we were going to Diagon Alley tomorrow. Johanna said we're going today."

Rogan nodded as he flipped the last pancake onto a plate and sat down with his own breakfast. "The twins and your sister want their books to start working from. We probably should have gotten your textbooks earlier. And this way we'll beat the Saturday rush."

Blaise nodded. "Sounds fine. I'm not looking forward to having to cart around all the Lockhart books this year. They're big, heavy and expensive."

"But they're worth it." Johanna entered the kitchen with the twins trailing along behind her. "Have you read them? The things he's done, places he's been. Isn't it amazing to know that he'll be teaching us?"

Blaise wrinkled his nose. "His books are for girls. I'm not in love with him." He made an even more grotesque face. "I'd hate to be in love with some guy who spends all his time killing vampires and writing books about it. Aren't there more vampires for him to kill?"

Alexander glared at his brother. "Professor Lockhart's going to be amazing! I can't wait for his class. And I'm not in love with him and his books aren't just for girls." He added quickly, all the teasing didn't bother him too much, but it eventually can get under your skin.

"You won't be able to judge until he's taught one of your classes." Rogan snapped his fingers at Alanna. "Pass me the prophet please." He took the paper from her and read through it. "Here's another article on Mr. Lockhart. And another."

Blaise watched his siblings fawn over the photographs and pictures. Apparently there was going to be a book signing on Saturday. _All the more reason for going today. Avoiding more of Johanna's and Alexander's __stalker-like__ behaviour. I'll wait until classes to decide what I think of the man._

The family licked the last of the maple syrup from their plates and tidied up before taking their places in front of the floo in the sitting room. There was a letter sitting in front of it.

Rogan grabbed the letter and ripped the parchment open.

_**Rogan and kids,**_

_**I'm sorry that I had to leave so suddenly. The emergency mission is very important and they need everyone they can get. I was hoping that I'd be able to be there to shop in Diagon Alley, but that's not going to be possible.**_

_**Kids- I'll send you letters at school since I'm not going to finish the mission while you're still at home. Good luck with starting school and remember to behave this year. I wish I was there to visit Diagon Alley with you and see the twins get their wands.**_

_**Rogan- You can send me letters the usual way. Same for anything the kids write. Love you and miss you. But everything should be all right and over by September 20th. I'll be home soon.**_

_**Love you all,**_

_**Mum.**_

Johanna pried her father's fingers slowly off the letter and read it aloud to everyone else once she read it over. The letter was reassuring, even if her mum wouldn't be there when she was getting her robes and schoolbooks.

"Well then. Let's get going." Rogan took down the pot of floo powder and passed it around before flooing himself.

**************

_I hope everyone enjoyed this. It was fun to write, I like my version of Blaise. He's not the one from the books, but he's got an important role to play. There is only one short chapter left after this. Then it's onto year two!_

**Next chapter – King's Cross**


	9. King's Cross

**Disclaimer: **JKR owns everything. I own nothing and I make no money from writing fan fiction.

Chapter Nine- King's Cross

The station was alive with students and parents. The calls of owls as they greeted one another, the hissing of cats and the steady puff of the Hogwarts Express filled the air. Through the din you could pick out voices of people saying heart wrenching and passionate goodbyes. First years worried of homesickness, older students kissing their muggle girlfriends. And then they'd turn and greet their friends happily. The school year was about to start.

Hermione glanced around, making note of worthy people. Her friends, a large group of Weasleys, more of her friends, no Harry Potter yet. But she did see his only friends, Neville Longbottom and Lavender Brown. They youngest Weasley was talking to them, a girl this time.

_Great, just what we need. More Weasleys. _Hermione glared at the adults, they needed to stop breeding like rabbits.

More people spilled onto the station from the gateway. Muggleborns and their parents in jeans, purebloods wearing dress robes to see off their heirs. It was the largest and strangest collection of people Hermione had ever seen. She could appreciate it this year, no longer a? startled first year gazing in awe at everything.

"Hermione."

The voice behind Hermione startled her and she jumped slightly before she turned around. "Greg? Is that really you?"

Gregory Goyle smirked at her. He was taller and his muscles looked bigger than ever from his summer of farm work. And his new robes were flattering, after all his mum had only finished sewing them the night before, so they fit perfectly. "Did you have a good summer?" He asked, even his voice sounded different.

Hermione smiled. "That isn't necessarily the word I'd use. But it was definitely a summer to remember."

"It was." Greg pulled his trunk up closer to his body. "We'd better load these. I'm suppose to help my sister load hers." He pointed to a girl who liked quite similar to himself, only her muscles weren't nearly as big. "Levina Goyle."

Hermione nodded and turned toward the train, only to have Daphene Greengrass smash into her. She was still shorter than Hermione and her face was mashed into Hermione's chest. "That anxious to see me?" Hermione asked, looking down at her friend.

Daphene shook her head. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement and energy. They almost looked. . .wild. "There's something I've got to tell you. And show you. In private." She took Hermione's arm. "I already got all of us a compartment."

Hermione nodded distractedly. She was still looking around the station. "Have you seen anyone else?" She asked Daphene. "Draco or Pansy?"

Greg nodded, ignoring the fact that the question had been directed at Daphene. "Vince is here and so is Millicent."

Daphene agreed. "They claimed spots in the compartments and left their trunks. Pansy's here too. I don't know about anyone else."

Hermione shrugged. "They'll show up eventually. Until then, I'll wait." She let Greg lift her trunk onto the train and dragged it down the hall to the compartment.

**********

_That was the last chapter, it was suppose to be this short. The first chapter of the sequel will start on the train. I hope everyone enjoyed the summer and is ready for another year at Hogwarts._

_Many thanks to everyone who has reviewed. You make writing so much easier and much more fun. Thank you very much! Also thanks to my sister, Xandra for beta reading everything and helping me make the stories so much better._

_I'm going to finish up some of my other stories before starting the sequel to this one. But there will be a sequel. It's all planned out and I'm starting to work on the first chapters already._

_The first chapter of "Hermione's Dark Plan" should be up by mid-November. There will be a sequel notice posted in this story._


	10. Sequel Notice

Sequel Notice

The sequel to this story is now posted, at least the first chapter. It is titled, Hermione's Dark Plan, if you enjoyed this story or the previous you should read this next one.

Thanks to everyone who reads or reviews!

Nicole Forest


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